Social media should bring people together.
Not drive them apart.
Social media was meant to be a space for sharing ideas, making connections, and engaging in meaningful conversations.
But too often, toxic exchanges and avoidable misunderstandings drown out productive dialogue, pushing valuable voices away.
CLR:SKY was created to change that.
We empower users to take control of their contributions, making social media a safer space—where opinions are debated with civility, thoughts are expressed with clarity, and differing perspectives are discussed with curiosity.
CLR: Civility. Listening. Respect.
Now more than ever, we need to protect the integrity of our digital town square. We hope you’ll join us on CLR:SKY.
Theory of Change
The primary objective of this project is to prototype and test in-app interventions to encourage more civil and constructive dialogue on social media platforms and identify new approaches to applying behavior change and social psychology to reduce polarization and uncivil discourse online.
1. Individual Impact
By developing research-backed behavior change tools and embedding them directly into social media platforms, users will be better equipped to recognize and reframe potentially harmful or confrontational language—even when faced with contentious topics— in the moment, in a more constructive way.
When commenting on another person’s post, the gen-AI Editor will reframe the comment in a way that demonstrates empathy and looks for common ground, something that is often hard to do in the moment. By seeing the re-written option, over time, individuals may learn more methods of communicating that helps decrease polarization, while still communicating their point.
2. Societal Impact
When users engage in more constructive conversation with one another, these digital spaces have the potential to foster deeper understanding, bridge divides, and reduce polarization—transforming social media into a space for connection, rather than conflict.
Our Vision
Shaping a more civil and connected online world for everyone.
Our Mission
To foster healthier online discourse by equipping individuals with tools designed to reduce toxicity, bridge divides, and enable more inclusive and constructive conversations on social media.
Our Perspective
Social media platforms have often been criticized for facilitating negative interactions, including harassment, bullying, and the spread of misinformation. These issues not only affect individual users but also have broader societal implications.
While various approaches have been attempted to mitigate these problems, one promising avenue is the use of in-app interventions designed to promote pro-social behavioral changes.
Research and Resources
The Prevalence and Impact of Toxicity on Social Media Users
According to the Pew Research Center, 41% of Americans have experienced online harassment, with social media being the most common place for these incidents.
Additionally, 62% see it as a major problem, and 78% say hostility online has made them less willing to engage on digital platforms.
Nudges Can Shift Online Behavior
Research conducted by OpenWeb on over 400K comment made by 50K users, over 3 months, demonstrated that nudges to comment authors shifted behavior.
34% of commenters who received a nudge edited their comments
Of those who edited, 54% changed it to be immediately permissible
45% removed or replaced the toxic element
8% reshaped their entire comment
12.5% lift in civil and thoughtful comments being published overall
The Positive Impact of Reframing
A Journal of Communication study indicates that interventions like rephrasing can reduce the likelihood of escalating conflict by up to 30%.