User-Driven Content Moderation and Body Image

Last registered on May 27, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
User-Driven Content Moderation and Body Image
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018704
Initial registration date
May 22, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
May 27, 2026, 10:56 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Katharina Baum
Affiliation
Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Margarita Gladkaya
PI Affiliation
University of Virginia
PI Name
Hanna Krasnova
PI Affiliation
University of Potsdam
PI Name
Jason Thatcher
PI Affiliation
University of Colorado Boulder

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2026-05-11
End date
2028-12-31
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
Information Systems
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The rise in negative body image has become a pressing global health concern increasingly linked to social media’s promotion of narrow and often unattainable beauty ideals through idealized appearance content. To date, most efforts to address this issue have focused on platform-enforced content moderation, yet such top-down approaches have shown limited effectiveness, as they often lack user agency. In response, this study introduces user-driven content moderation (UDCM), a novel, user-centric approach grounded in emotion regulation theory, whereby individuals remove distressing content using existing platform features.To evaluate this approach, we will conduct a one-week experimental study with female Instagram users. Participants in the treatment group will be trained in UDCM to remove distressing appearance-related content, while participants in the control group will use Instagram as usual.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Baum, Katharina et al. 2026. "User-Driven Content Moderation and Body Image." AEA RCT Registry. May 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18704-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The invervention teaches partipants how to use a popular social media platform's content moderation features to remove idealized appearance-related content from their feeds.
Intervention Start Date
2026-05-11
Intervention End Date
2026-09-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Body Image
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Body image will be measured using established self-report scales.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Participants in the treatment group will be trained in UDCM to remove distressing appearance-related content, while participants in the control group will use Instagram as usual.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done by the survey software SoSci survey.
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
650 participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
163
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Research Ethics Committee (WI REC)
IRB Approval Date
2026-02-23
IRB Approval Number
2026-RECWI-01201
Analysis Plan