Welcome to a new PR challenge: surviving the unmoderated internet

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While we may have rolled our eyes at some of their heavy-handed enforcement, they were, at the very least, trying to make the internet a more habitable zone.

Now? Platforms like Meta and X have handed the content moderation keys back to users in the form of community notes. What’s more the moderation on TikTok and Instagram has been shown to have some significant flaws. This poses some unique problems for PR.

Human moderation is dying. In its absence, we’re not just seeing more harmful content slip through the cracks, we’re watching the entire context of content creation shift. For PR professionals, this means we no longer have the luxury of trusting that a trained professional will take action should our content find itself linked to questionable posts. We have to be our moderators now.

Welcome to the no-rules rodeo

With fewer professionals in the loop, moderation has become an exercise in guessing what an algorithm might flag. Or worse, trusting that whoever is contributing to community notes has good intentions. A completely innocuous campaign can be derailed because a machine learning model misreads the use of the word “explosive” or a fan group intentionally misuses it.

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PR agencies aren’t just telling stories anymore. We’ve become unofficial compliance officers, risk managers, and digital protectors of our clients’ reputations. The pressure is higher than ever, not only because content spreads fast, but because there’s often no one left on the platforms to stop it once it does.

Content is still king, but we must treat it carefully

Content remains one of the most powerful tools in a communicator’s arsenal. But in today’s unmoderated digital landscape, every word carries greater weight. With fewer gatekeepers online, content doesn’t just inform, it effectively governs itself. In this environment, a poorly phrased sentence can be misinterpreted and go viral for all the wrong reasons.

This makes tone, nuance and clarity more critical than ever. PR professionals must treat every piece of content as though it could be taken out of context and shared widely.

To stand up to this pressure, good content must do more than just capture attention. It must also be ethically sound, socially aware and resilient enough to withstand scrutiny in an always-on, always-reacting online world.

So, what now? What should PR do?

Here’s where it gets practical. As PR consultants in this environment, our job is not just to adapt, but to embrace the chaos:

Build internal moderation muscle

Since the platforms are outsourcing ethics to the algorithms and community notes, you need to bring this capacity in-house. Treat content reviews like legal checks. Make time for them. Train your juniors in what to look out for. Use AI tools, sure, but don't trust them without oversight.

Create content for interpretability

Assume everything you post will be judged not just by followers, but by screenshots shared without context. Your messages need to be both layered and legible, understandable in three seconds and defensible under scrutiny.

Double-check your crisis plans

A single post can become a full-blown PR wildfire before your client’s even had their morning coffee. Crisis comms protocols need to move at meme speed. Pre-draft holding statements. Workshop worst-case scenarios. Assume the worst, not because you’re cynical, but because you’re professional.

The bottom line

Platforms have made it clear that moderation isn’t their priority anymore. For PR agencies, this is not a burden, it’s an opportunity. There’s power in being the most responsible voice in the room when everyone else is shouting.

If this sounds exhausting? Welcome to modern, digital PR. It’s never been more chaotic. Or more crucial.