Over the last year, we’ve been collecting feedback from HuffPost members and loyal readers through polls, surveys, forums, customer support, focus groups, interviews and more.
One of the recurring themes we have heard consistently is that you want a better commenting experience – one with more transparency, less toxicity and more ways to participate. Commenters have also repeatedly asked for a login that doesn’t require a Facebook or Twitter account.
Since April 2, only HuffPost members are able to comment on articles.
Instead of logging in using a social media account ID, you will be prompted to create a HuffPost member account to comment on stories. (If you’re already a member, you won’t need to do anything other than log in to comment.)
As part of completing this transition, any comments on stories published before April 2 will no longer be accessible.
Please bear with us if you encounter any weirdness this week as we make these changes.
We’ve also worked hard to improve our comments with:
simplified guidelines visible at the top of the comments section on each article for more transparency
more moderation on controversial topics
a roundup of editors’ picks featuring smart, thoughtful comments
- community conversations with staff, including featured comments in the articles
more ways to participate, including polls, forums and virtual events.
This is only the beginning! We plan to roll out more community features based on your feedback in the coming weeks and months.
Basic HuffPost membership doesn’t cost a thing, and it comes with access to the behind-the-scenes HuffPost Insider newsletter, members-only events with HuffPost journalists and discounts on tickets to other HuffPost events.
In January, members interviewed Lydia Polgreen, our then-editor-in-chief, in a virtual Q&A, and they participated in an online elections briefing with Amanda Terkel, our Washington bureau chief, and Kevin Robillard, one of our senior political reporters, after Super Tuesday.
HuffPost readers also joined our health and politics senior reporter Jonathan Cohn in a live group interview about COVID-19 with HuffPost public health contributor Kathryn Jacobsen, a professor who specializes in global epidemiology, in March. We have much more planned.
If you would like to support HuffPost’s journalism financially and help keep our articles free for everyone, we encourage you to join as a HuffPost Plus member, which includes an ad-free experience on the HuffPost mobile apps.
To get to the comments, click on the gray quote bubble in the sharing icons either to the left of an article’s headline (on desktop), at the top of the article (on mobile web browser) or in the tab at the bottom of the app screen. You can find more information about comments on our FAQ page.
Regardless of who you are, where you live or what you believe, HuffPost has always been a place for you to express your thoughts and opinions and participate in discussions about the most pivotal stories of our time.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become even more important to stay up to date and connected. We hope you’ll join the HuffPost community – and the conversation!