Features are provided for the distributed moderation of content annotations and the dynamic display of the moderated annotations. The annotations can be selectively distributed to subsets of user devices currently viewing a content item, thereby limiting the number of annotations that each user device receives. By selectively distributing only subsets of new annotations, users can give more attention to individual annotations and provide meaningful moderation information (e.g., ratings, “likes,” responses, etc.) regarding individual annotations. The annotations can be displayed in a manner that emphasizes the more highly-rated annotations and/or commonly-submitted annotations over other annotations. The annotations can also be displayed in a manner that provides visual cues regarding the sources of individual annotations.