Reddit moderators could be more effective by explaining their decisions Omar Marques/SOPA Images/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News

Social media platforms struggling to tackle the tide of misinformation and unsuitable content could cut its flow by a fifth by better explaining their rules. That is the finding of a large-scale study of 32 million posts on popular discussion site Reddit.

On Reddit, volunteer moderators clear forums, called subreddits, of unsuitable or off-topic material. Moderators take different approaches, however. Some explain why they have removed the content, but about 99 per cent simply take it down without explanation.

Shagun Jhaver at the …