Deleting the comment removes the evidence, not the fact that you meant it at the time.

Hitting delete cleans the record and leaves everything else intact. Whoever saw it still saw it, and the version of you that typed it is still the version that typed it. Removing the trace can be a small mercy or a small dodge, depending on whether anything comes after. The gap between those two is the only part that matters.

If you took something down because it was cruel or false, go the extra step and say so directly to whoever it was aimed at. One plain sentence with no explanation of what you actually meant. That closes it in a way an empty space never will.