Creator Hearts: Investigating the Impact Positive Signals from YouTube Creators in Shaping Comment Section Behavior

Much of the research in online moderation focuses on punitive actions. However, emerging research has shown that positive reinforcement is effective at encouraging desirable behavior on online platforms. We extend this research by studying the “creator heart” feature on YouTube, quantifying their primary effects on comments that receive hearts and on videos where hearts have been given out by creators. Overall, creator hearts increased creator agency over feed presentation in YouTube comments sections, and also served as an incentive mechanism to drive user engagement. We find that creator hearts increased the visibility of comments, and increased the amount of positive engagement they received from other users. We also find that the presence of a creator-hearted comment soon after a video is published can incentivize viewers to comment, increasing the total engagement with the video over time. We discuss how creators can use hearts to shape behavior in their communities by highlighting, rewarding, and incentivizing desired behaviors from users. We discuss avenues for extending our study to understanding positive signals from moderators and curators on other platforms.