IM Cultural Institute

Category: Research

  • Teacher Education, Diversity, and the Prevention of Hate Speech: Ethical and Political Foundations for Inclusive Citizenship

    Teacher Education, Diversity, and the Prevention of Hate Speech: Ethical and Political Foundations for Inclusive Citizenship

    This study examines hate speech in educational contexts, focusing on initial teacher training, in the context of Chile.

    Considering how hate speech is conceptualized as a form of expression that promotes violence and exclusion – and the amplifying role of social media -, drawing on the theories of Levinas, Arendt, and Žižek, the study emphasizes the importance of citizenship education in fostering inclusive and democratic educational environments.

    Using a quantitative, descriptive, and correlational design, the research is based on a survey of history pedagogy students at Chilean universities.

    The analysis shows that 51% of participants believe that teacher training programs should explicitly address hate speech, and 70% expect institutional support from the Ministry of Education. Additionally, a moderate positive correlation is identified between social media use and the spread of hate speech.

    Although students acknowledge hate speech as a significant issue, the findings also reveal ongoing resistance to incorporating hate speech and diversity-related content into teacher education curricula.

    A need for public policies is emphasized, which will integrate diversity, human rights, and critical digital literacy into teacher training in order to prevent discrimination and promote ethical and inclusive educational practices.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15050139

    Reference

    Marolla-Gajardo, J., & Riquelme Plaza, I. (2025). Teacher Education, Diversity, and the Prevention of Hate Speech: Ethical and Political Foundations for Inclusive Citizenship. Societies, 15(5)

  • Loneliness and Radicalization

    Loneliness and Radicalization

    This article investigates how experiences of loneliness play a role in radicalization processes.

    The authors’ main objective is to develop an empirically grounded theory of loneliness in contemporary forms of radicalization.

    Taking Hannah Arendt’s political theory, which posits loneliness as a breeding ground for terror as a starting point, an analysis guided by a critical phenomenological approach is constructed, adopting the perspective of subjective experiences while exploring how these are embedded in specific social structures in contemporary societies.

    Empirical data is drawn from two sets of cases: lone-actor terrorists and female Western affiliates of ISIS.

    Conclusions point to the fact that while the fear of individual and collective extinction plays an important role for right-wing lone-actor terrorists, experiences of discrimination and marginalization are crucial in the case of Islamist radicalization in Western countries.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.1177/01914537251334550

    Reference

    Tirkkonen, S. K., & Tietjen, R. R. (2025). Loneliness and radicalization. Philosophy & Social Criticism, 0(0)

  • Improving Public Literacy in Hate Speech Cases on Social Media as an Effort to Mitigate Legal and Social Impacts

    Improving Public Literacy in Hate Speech Cases on Social Media as an Effort to Mitigate Legal and Social Impacts

    Following on the evidence that hate speech and the threats posed by it and its recurrence has not received enough attention, the authors have conducted a study of hate speech in social media, focusing in particular on insults that may constitute criminal speech and on the mindset of those who produce such content.

    Using a qualitative approach, the study analyzes a defamation case based on the final decision published on the Supreme Court website. Pragmatic analysis is applied to interpret the intentions underlying the offender’s speech.

    The findings identify several forms of insults, including accusations, curses, ridicule, and combinations of accusations and curses. These forms involve violations of pragmatic maxims, namely the maxims of quality, wisdom, and agreement.

    From a legal perspective, such speech can be prosecuted if it is done intentionally, contains accusations, is disseminated to the public, contains swear words, and defames the victim.

    Concluding results point to the need for greater awareness among social media users of the risks and consequences of insulting speech, emphasizing the importance of literacy around insult and defamation cases.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1504.10

    Reference

    Arianto, A. K., Santosa, R., & Yustanto, H. (2025). Improving Public Literacy in Hate Speech Cases on Social Media as an Effort to Mitigate Legal and Social Impacts. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 15(4), 1120–1129

  • Empowerment Is Key? How Perceived Political and Critical Digital Media Literacy Explain Direct and Indirect Bystander Intervention in Online Hate Speech

    Empowerment Is Key? How Perceived Political and Critical Digital Media Literacy Explain Direct and Indirect Bystander Intervention in Online Hate Speech

    With hate speech being so widespread in digital media and capable of harming people and fueling recurring hostile discourse, the study of the factors that shape bystander intervention in response to online hate speech is crucial.

    Specifically, there is still a need to understand how perceived political and digital media literacy are related to the frequency of various forms of online bystander intervention, such as counter-speech or reporting. This is what this study seeks to do.

    Based on a national online survey of German citizens (N = 2,691), the analysis focuses on individuals with prior experience in responding to online incivilities (n = 672). The study examines how perceived levels of political and digital media literacy are associated with private and public, direct and indirect forms of intervention, such as counter-speech or reporting harmful content.

    Results indicate that a sense of empowerment in dealing with digital media content is associated with more frequent direct and public interventions, including the use of counter-speech against online hate.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251325598

    Reference

    Obermaier, M., Schmid, U. K., & Rieger, D. (2025). Empowerment Is Key? How Perceived Political and Critical Digital Media Literacy Explain Direct and Indirect Bystander Intervention in Online Hate Speech. Social Media and Society, 11(1)

  • Large Language Models can Consistently Generate High-Quality Content for Election Disinformation Operations

    Large Language Models can Consistently Generate High-Quality Content for Election Disinformation Operations

    According to the authors of this study, advances in large language models have raised concerns about their potential use in generating compelling election disinformation at scale. In evidence of this, a two-part investigation into the capabilities of LLMs to automate stages of an election disinformation operation is presented.

    First, DisElect is introduced, a new evaluation dataset designed to measure LLM compliance with malicious prompts related to election disinformation in a localized UK context. The dataset includes 2,200 malicious and 50 benign prompts and was used to test 13 LLMs. Second, the “humanness” of LLM-generated disinformation was assessed, through a series of experiments (N = 2,340).

    The results show that most models comply with disinformation requests, while those that refuse malicious prompts also tend to refuse benign election-related prompts and are more likely to reject content from a right-wing perspective.

    On the second subject, findings indicate that most models released since 2022 produce disinformation content that is indistinguishable from human-written text more than half of the time, with some models exceeding human levels of perceived authenticity.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317421

    Reference

    Williams, A. R., Burke-Moore, L., Chan, R. S., Enock, F. E., Nanni, F., Sippy, T., Chung, Y. L., Gabasova, E., Hackenburg, K., & Bright, J. (2025). Large language models can consistently generate high-quality content for election disinformation operations. PloS one, 20(3), e0317421

  • Engagement with Radical Propaganda drives Cognitive Radicalization: An Analysis of a Right-Wing Online Ecosystem

    Engagement with Radical Propaganda drives Cognitive Radicalization: An Analysis of a Right-Wing Online Ecosystem

    Studies into the psycho-social processes involved in the phenomena of radicalization have revealed that social exclusion, cognitive inflexibility and the perception of threats to an ingroup are significant factors in the propensity to engagement with radical content online and the posterior commitment to related offline behaviours.

    In evidence of this, a recent study seeks to research user engagement and the proxy effect in the process of cognitive radicalization within a radical-right online ecosystem.

    The findings support the assumption that content containing outgroup prejudice contributes to cognitive radicalization, and further demonstrate that user engagement plays a central role, with an engagement-dependent framework in which individual posts carry a higher likelihood of radicalizing impact based on the level of interaction they receive.

    The author highlights the implications of these dynamics for understanding behavioural trajectories, from viewing and engaging with content to joining radical groups or engaging in offline violence.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.17.1.2160

    Reference

    Calvert, J. B. (2024). Engagement with Radical Propaganda drives Cognitive Radicalization: An Analysis of a Right-Wing Online Ecosystem. Journal of Strategic Security, 17(1), 24–30

  • Associations Between Teachers’ Beliefs and their Perception of Hate Speech in School: A Study in Germany and Switzerland

    Associations Between Teachers’ Beliefs and their Perception of Hate Speech in School: A Study in Germany and Switzerland

    Teachers’ perceptions of hate speech in schools is an issue that should be increasingly relevant, given the prevalence of hate speech among adolescents and the need for educational responses. While teachers are expected to address hate speech as part of their professional role, little is known about the beliefs that shape their early perceptions and intervention decisions, which can be crucial in the quality of their approach.

    For this reason, this study investigates the associations between teachers’ social dominance orientation, pluralist attitudes, and their perception of hate speech in school.

    Empirical data was collected through a self-report survey of 471 secondary school teachers from Germany and Switzerland, and matched with data from 3,560 students in grades 7 to 9 to control for students’ perceptions of hate speech. Fixed-effects multilevel regression analyses were conducted, accounting for demographic variables and student perceptions.

    Study results show that teachers perceive offline hate speech as more frequent than online hate speech. Contrary to expectations, higher social dominance orientation was positively associated with both offline and online hate speech perception. As hypothesized, teachers’ pluralist attitudes were also positively linked to their perception of hate speech in both contexts.

    Nonetheless, the study concludes by emphasizing the need for further research on how teachers’ beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions of hate speech relate to other dimensions of professional competence in educational settings.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1432013

    Reference

    Kansok-Dusche, J., Wettstein, A., Fischer, S. M., Wachs, S., & Bilz, L. (2024). Associations between teachers’ beliefs and their perception of hate speech in school: A study in Germany and Switzerland. Frontiers in Education, 9

  • The Media Literacy Theory of Change and the Message Interpretation Process Model

    The Media Literacy Theory of Change and the Message Interpretation Process Model

    In this article, the authors offer an examination of the Message Interpretation Process (MIP) model, originally developed to explain how young people interpret entertainment media messages and make judgments about reality and behavioral choices.

    As the model has evolved, its core principles have contributed to the development of a complementary framework referred to as the Media Literacy Theory of Change. Both models are grounded in the view that media literacy involves cognitive and affective components of message interpretation, and that these skills can be taught, practiced, and adapted as individuals develop physically, cognitively, emotionally, and socially. The authors provide an explanation of both models, and also a review of related research.

    In short, it is concluded that the Media Literacy Theory of Change, rather than replacing context-specific literacy models, provides a shared perspective grounded in cognitive and affective message interpretation and decision-making.

    In conjunction with the Message Interpretation Process model, this framework offers a flexible and evidence-based foundation for future research, educational practice, and media literacy interventions aimed at supporting critical thinking and informed decision-making in complex information environments.

    Learn more abou this article here: https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtae018

    Reference

    Erica Weintraub Austin, Shawn Domgaard, The media literacy theory of change and the message interpretation process model, Communication Theory, Volume 34, Issue 4, November 2024, Pages 167–177

  • From Hate Speech to HateLess. The Effectiveness of a Prevention Program on Adolescents’ Online Hate Speech Involvement

    From Hate Speech to HateLess. The Effectiveness of a Prevention Program on Adolescents’ Online Hate Speech Involvement

    In this study, the impact of online hate speech on adolescents was examined, and the effectiveness of HateLess – Together Against Hatred, a school-based intervention designed to reduce hate speech engagement and promote counter-speech.

    Using a quasi-experimental design, the research involved 820 adolescents aged 12 to 16 from 11 German schools, divided into an intervention group that participated in a one-week anti-hate speech program and a control group. Multilevel mediation analyses were used to assess the program’s effects.

    It was shown that participation in the program significantly reduced online hate speech perpetration and victimization, while increasing countering behaviors. These effects were partly mediated by increases in empathy, which were associated with lower perpetration and higher counter-speech, and by enhanced self-efficacy, which was linked to reduced victimization and greater countering of hate speech.

    Overall, HateLess appears to be a promising approach for reducing online hate speech and fostering more respectful online interactions among adolescents.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2024.108250

    Reference

    Wachs, S., Wright, M. F., & Gámez-Guadix, M. (2024). From hate speech to HateLess. The effectiveness of a prevention program on adolescents’ online hate speech involvement. Computers in Human Behavior, 157

  • News Literacy and Online News Between Egyptian and Spanish Youth: Fake News, Hate Speech and Trust in the Media

    News Literacy and Online News Between Egyptian and Spanish Youth: Fake News, Hate Speech and Trust in the Media

    An exploratory study reflects on whether citizens can be considered “responsible” in their online news behavior when exposed to harmful content, fake news, and hate speech.

    It aims to position news literacy as a mediating factor in fostering civic responsibility by investigating its role in improving young people’s online news experiences and preparing them to deal with harmful content.

    News literacy is conceptualized as a multi-structural construct composed of motivation, knowledge, and skills. Using a mixed-methods approach, focus group discussions and survey data were combined to examine youths’ online news experiences and assess their levels of news literacy. Youth samples from Egypt and Spain were the empirical basis of the research, allowing for a comparative analysis.

    Results reveal a positive correlation between news literacy and the ability to identify fake news and hate speech, higher engagement with news, greater concern for content accuracy before sharing, and stronger motivation to seek news.

    At the same time, respondents from both countries expressed negative perceptions of professional news media, citing concerns that news organizations are not adequately fulfilling their role as it should be.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.3916/C74-2023-06

    Reference

    Samy-Tayie, S., Tejedor, S., & Pulido, C. (2023). News literacy and online news between Egyptian and Spanish youth: Fake news, hate speech and trust in the media. Comunicar, 30(74), 69–81