Civic Health Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing massively scalable solutions to society's dangerous divisions through technology. As part of this campaign, we are spotlighting Normsy, an AI-enhanced initiative designed to counteract toxic polarization by injecting prosocial, constructive engagement into online spaces—without restricting free speech. 

Social media is shaping how we talk to each other—and how much we trust each other. Right now, the loudest voices online are often the most extreme. Left unchecked, this accelerates division, weakens community bonds, and erodes trust in everything from neighbors to institutions.

But here’s the good news: Norms are contagious. Trust can be rebuilt.

Normsy is a new kind of response—one that doesn’t censor, but constructively counters the toxic narratives dominating digital spaces. By modeling empathy, shared values, and respectful disagreement, Normsy helps shift the tone of entire conversations—for posters, for bystanders, and for the broader audience watching.

Our Goals:

• Reach 1 billion impressions by the end of 2025 by responding to toxic content with trust-building counterspeech.
• Deploy on 5+ major platforms by 2027, expanding from X to include Reddit, Threads, Bluesky, YouTube comments, and more.
• Drive measurable shifts in online behavior, reducing toxic norms and increasing exposure to prosocial engagement.
• Keep it accessible, maintaining a cost-per-impression lower than traditional sponsored content.

We believe the best way to fight polarization isn’t to silence voices—it’s to amplify better ones. With Normsy, we’re giving people the tools to do exactly that.

Your one-time or recurring donation to Civic Health Project helps us invest in massively scalable solutions to the dangerous divisions that harm our relationships, communities, and institutions.

Social media platforms are optimized for outrage, not understanding. By rewarding extreme content with outsized reach, platform algorithms have accelerated the breakdown of healthy online norms—resulting in:

Efforts like moderation, fact-checking, and labeling often backfire, reinforcing division or feeding claims of censorship. Meanwhile, those who want to model better online behavior struggle to keep up.

• Escalating polarization and partisan hostility
• Dehumanization of ideological opponents
• Outrage loops that drown out nuance
• Erosion of interpersonal trust
• Disengagement from civil discourse and community life

Efforts like moderation, fact-checking, and labeling often backfire, reinforcing division or feeding claims of censorship. Meanwhile, those who want to model better online behavior struggle to keep up.

Our Approach: Human + AI-Powered Intervention

Normsy fights fire with (prosocial) fire. We meet harmful content where it spreads—on public threads, in real time—and respond not with censorship, but with normative counterspeech. That means modeling the social norms that guide healthy, respectful disagreement in real life but often vanish online.

Our approach rests on three principles:

1. Trust is relational—you can’t rebuild institutional or civic trust without first rebuilding interpersonal trust.
2. Norms shape behavior—what people see as acceptable online becomes what they do.
3. Technology can help—when paired with human insight, AI can scale constructive engagement, not just amplify division.

Key Features:

• Real-time detection of harmful content: Normsy monitors public social media conversations to identify toxic or polarizing posts as they gain traction—focusing on incivility, dehumanization, anti-democratic rhetoric, and more.
• AI-assisted, human-powered responses: A blend of generative AI and trained human responders deliver replies designed to de-escalate tension, model healthier behavior, and shift the tone of conversations.
• Evidence-based response strategies: Normsy draws from six social science-backed techniques—like showing empathy, highlighting shared values, and respectfully exposing inconsistencies—to guide constructive engagement. Simple, scalable intervention tools: Normsy’s dashboard allows users to generate thoughtful, context-aware replies with just a few clicks. No special training or deep expertise required.
• Built-in testing and optimization: Every response type is continuously evaluated to track what works, for whom, and under what conditions—ensuring ongoing learning and effectiveness.

At Civic Health Project, we recognize that fostering social cohesion requires more than just well-intended efforts - it requires measurable impact. The Social Cohesion Impact Measurement (SCIM) Framework is an innovative, research-backed initiative designed to track, analyze, and improve the effectiveness of bridging efforts aimed at reducing affective polarization, strengthening democractic norms, and fostering pluralistic engagement.

Our team includes passionate innovators, researchers, and leaders committed to advancing scalable solutions that bridge divides, foster civil discourse, and strengthen social cohesion from across the country. We broaden our reach by working with the Listen First Coalition to reach local and place-based work targeted towards bridging divides.

Civic Health Project has played an instrumental role in promoting the work of America’s grassroots bridge-building field. As a grantmaker, we’ve awarded >75 field grants, mobilizing millions of dollars on behalf of bridge-building work across the country. As a Listen First Coalition member, we’ve amplified the field’s efforts by co-chairing the Bridging Goals and Measures Program, leading fieldwide awareness campaigns, providing in-kind staffing support, and participating in steering and working groups.

At Civic Health Project, we fund, promote, design, and launch innovative projects that address the root causes of polarization, foster social cohesion, and strengthen civic norms.

From AI-powered interventions to scalable measurement tools, our initiatives blend emerging technologies, groundbreaking social science, and real-world deployment to build a healthier civic landscape. Civic Health Project co-chairs the Council on Technology and Social Cohesion, a rapidly growing global forum with >60 member entities to date. Click  to learn more about the Council’s important work to advance technology that connects rather than divides, in the U.S. and worldwide.

Some of these projects include:

Normsy: Normsy is an AI-enhanced initiative designed to counteract toxic polarization by injecting prosocial, constructive engagement into online spaces—without restricting free speech. Developed by Civic Health Project and partners, Normsy combines human insight and AI-powered strategy to shift online norms, rebuild trust, and foster more resilient digital communities.

Social Cohesion Impact Measurement (SCIM) Framework: An innovative, research-backed initiative designed to track, analyze, and improve the effectiveness of bridging efforts aimed at reducing affective polarization, strengthening democratic norms, and fostering pluralistic engagement.

Creating and Testing Classifiers for Civic Health (CaTCCH) Initiative: A groundbreaking effort to develop and evaluate classifiers that identify harmful content while assessing its real-world impact on civic society​​.

Prosocial Ranking Challenge (PRC): PRC is a real-world experimental initiative that recruits thousands of users to test alternative social media ranking models via a custom browser extension. The project allows participants to experience different ranking algorithms in real time, providing a direct comparison of their impact on attitudes, behaviors, and discourse quality