IM Cultural Institute

Tag: Hate Speech

  • Can We Counteract Hate? Effects of Online Hate Speech and Counter Speech on the Perception of Social Groups

    Can We Counteract Hate? Effects of Online Hate Speech and Counter Speech on the Perception of Social Groups

    Considering the fact that hate speech can increase stereotyped thinking and social distancing in a society, while – according to the authors of this study – there is still a lack of variety in the social groups under study and research into possible solutions to the problem, the study of the effects of hate speech is proposed, specifically against Chinese people and transgender people, while investigating if counter speech can offset the detrimental effects of hate speech.

    For this purpose, a pre-registered online experiment was carried out, with a 2 × 3 between-subject design, varying the attacked group (Chinese people/transgender people) and the type of comments (neutral/hate speech/hate speech and counter speech) for an Austrian sample (n = 1285).

    Findings in this case actually seemed to reveal no effect of hate speech on the dependent variables, indicating that citizens might not be as vulnerable to hate speech, but further study is necessary.

    However, counter speech has a polarizing effect: attitudinal gaps and differences for social distancing increase between left-wing and right-wing participants if hate speech is countered.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502231201091

    Reference

    Schäfer, S., Rebasso, I., Boyer, M. M., & Planitzer, A. M. (2024). Can We Counteract Hate? Effects of Online Hate Speech and Counter Speech on the Perception of Social Groups. Communication Research, 51(5), 553–579

  • Understanding and Appraising ‘Hate Speech’

    Understanding and Appraising ‘Hate Speech’

    According to the author of this study, although hate speech has become a matter of international concern, permeating institutional and lay discussions alike, what it means to refer to a linguistic act as ‘hate speech’ remains unclear.

    In light of such evidence, focusing on lay understandings of hate speech, the study explores the relationship between hate speech and hate, the distinction between hate speech and offensive speech, considering also how hate speech is defined in the UK Public Order Act 1986.

    Using a corpus-based discourse analysis, 255 hate speech–related news articles were analyzed, alongside data from the General English Web 2020 corpus.

    Hate speech is found to be a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, because hate is a central component, but it is not sufficient on its own to classify an act as hate speech, and elements such as threats, denigration of the targets based on a protected characteristic (age, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability), the potential to cause harm and the intent to stir up hatred, are also essential in distinguishing hate speech and offense.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.1075/jlac.00082.vil

    Reference

    Vilar-Lluch, S. (2023). Understanding and appraising ‘hate speech.’ Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict, 11(2), 279–306

  • Hate Speech in the Internet Context: Unpacking the Roles of Internet Penetration, Online Legal Regulation, and Online Opinion Polarization from a Transnational Perspective

    Hate Speech in the Internet Context: Unpacking the Roles of Internet Penetration, Online Legal Regulation, and Online Opinion Polarization from a Transnational Perspective

    In this study, the dynamics of online hate speech are examined through the analysis of a panel dataset covering 167 countries over 19 years, drawn from the V-Dem project.

    The relationships between key Internet context indicators and online hate speech is explored, in order to better understand how the phenomenon can be addressed at a global scale.

    Findings show that what the authors call “Internet penetration” is positively associated with online hate speech, supporting the idea that the technological affordances of the Internet can facilitate the expression of hateful content. Online legal regulation is negatively related to online hate speech, not significantly moderating the relationship between Internet penetration and hate speech, highlighting tensions in the effectiveness of legal approaches. On another hand, online opinion polarization is positively associated with online hate speech and significantly strengthens the relationship between Internet penetration and hate speech, suggesting that polarized opinion environments intensify hate speech and intergroup conflict.

    The study concludes by offering a discussion of the theoretical contributions of these findings and their implications for policy aimed at reducing online hate speech worldwide.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.1177/02666669221148487

    Reference

    Liu, Z., Luo, C., & Lu, J. (2024). Hate speech in the Internet context: Unpacking the roles of Internet penetration, online legal regulation, and online opinion polarization from a transnational perspective. Information Development, 40(4), 533–549

  • Towards a Definition of Hate Speech—With a Focus on Online Contexts

    Towards a Definition of Hate Speech—With a Focus on Online Contexts

    This review addresses the ongoing challenges faced by legislators and digital platforms in defining and regulating hate speech online.

    Despite increased attention to the issue, questions surrounding the definition of hate speech remain unresolved, raising concerns about both theoretical clarity and practical applicability. For this reason, the paper focuses on three central questions: the main challenges involved in defining hate speech, the possible alternatives to existing definitions, and the relationship between the scope of a definition and its operationalization in online contexts.

    By tracing regulatory and definitional efforts across legal, paralegal, and technology platform settings, the review identifies four main modes of defining hate speech: teleological, pure consequentialist, formal, and consensus or relativist approaches.

    The authors highlight that, although hate speech has long been the focus of legal and ethical debate, both its theoretical definition and its regulation remain elusive. Existing definitions are often vague or internally inconsistent, with no universally accepted framework emerging from legal theory, jurisprudence, or academic research. This lack of consensus is further complicated by new ethical and communicative challenges posed by digital and social media environments.

    Learn more about this review here: https://doi.org/10.1177/01968599221124309

    Reference

    Hietanen, M., & Eddebo, J. (2022). Towards a Definition of Hate Speech—With a Focus on Online Contexts. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 47(4), 440-458

  • Youths as Targets: Factors of Online Hate Speech Victimization among Adolescents and Young Adults

    Youths as Targets: Factors of Online Hate Speech Victimization among Adolescents and Young Adults

    In this study, the victimization of adolescents and young adults through online hate speech was investigated, a phenomenon that can cause severe psychological harm during critical developmental stages.

    Drawing on criminology’s routine activity theory, the research investigates factors that help explain why young people become targets of online hate speech.It is empirically based on a national, quota-based quantitative online survey representative of adolescent and young adult internet users (N = 1,180).

    Data analysis identifies six latent profiles of young targets, characterized by overall high or low levels of online hate speech victimization, as well as victimization related to gender, migration background, religion, and political engagement on behalf of the queer community.

    Concluding results show that relative subjective deprivation, political participation, and lower levels of digital media literacy are positively associated with overall victimization through online hate speech. At the same time, members of specific social groups and politically engaged youths are more likely to be targeted.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmac012

    Reference

    Obermaier, M., & Schmuck, D. (2022). Youths as targets: Factors of online hate speech victimization among adolescents and young adults. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 27(4)

  • A Systematic Review on Hate Speech among Children and Adolescents: Definitions, Prevalence, and Overlap with Related Phenomena

    A Systematic Review on Hate Speech among Children and Adolescents: Definitions, Prevalence, and Overlap with Related Phenomena

    This systematic review examined the current state of research on the involvement of young people in hate speech, an area the authors affirm that remains relatively underexplored.

    Two main issues make its focus: the prevalence of hate speech among children and adolescents, including the definitions used to assess prevalence, and the theoretical and empirical overlap between hate speech and related concepts.

    Guided by the Cochrane approach, the review includes studies reporting real-life experiences of hate speech and providing empirical prevalence data for samples aged 5 to 21 years. An electronic search across ERIC, SocInfo, PsycInfo, and Psyndex identified 1,850 publications, of which 18 publications based on 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies relied on quantitative methods and focused on adolescent samples, with no studies examining younger children.

    Results show that exposure to hate speech was more frequent than victimization or perpetration, empirical evidence of overlap between hate speech and bullying was also identified, while definitions and assessment instruments varied considerably across studies.

    The authors conclude by outlining various implications for practice, policy, and future research, and proposing the following definition of hate speech:

    “Hate speech is a derogatory expression (e.g., words, posts, text messages, images, videos) about people (directly or vicariously) on the basis of assigned group characteristics (e.g., ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion). Hate speech is based on an intention to harm and it has the potential to cause harm on multiple different levels (e.g., individual, communal, societal).”

    Learn more about this review here: https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380221108070

    Reference

    Kansok-Dusche, J., Ballaschk, C., Krause, N., Zeißig, A., Seemann-Herz, L., Wachs, S., & Bilz, L. (2022). A Systematic Review on Hate Speech among Children and Adolescents: Definitions, Prevalence, and Overlap with Related Phenomena. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(4), 2598-2615

  • Hate Speech Epidemic. The Dynamic Effects of Derogatory Language on Intergroup Relations and Political Radicalization

    Hate Speech Epidemic. The Dynamic Effects of Derogatory Language on Intergroup Relations and Political Radicalization

    In this article, the way how exposure to derogatory language targeting immigrants and minority groups contributes to political radicalization and deteriorates intergroup relations is discussed.

    The psychological processes underlying both the effects of hate speech and its proliferation in contemporary societies are considered, as well as the factors that may constrain its growth.

    The authors argue that frequent exposure to hate speech has profound emotional, behavioral, and normative consequences. Empathy is gradually replaced by intergroup contempt, which both motivates and results from derogatory language. As hate speech becomes more prevalent, it creates a descriptive norm that legitimizes outgroup derogation, leading to the erosion of existing antidiscriminatory norms. In addition, repeated exposure produces desensitization, reducing individuals’ ability to recognize the offensive nature of such language.

    Drawing on empirical evidence from social psychology and the psychology of emotion and aggression, a model is proposed to explain these processes and explores its dynamics using an agent-based modeling approach. It is shown that mechanisms that could limit the spread of hate speech, such as empathy and social norms, are themselves weakened by continued exposure.

    Concluding remarks point out that these psychological dynamics contribute to greater societal acceptance of derogatory language and increased hostility toward immigrants and religious, ethnic, and sexual minorities.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12670

    Reference

    Bilewicz, M. and Soral, W. (2020), Hate Speech Epidemic. The Dynamic Effects of Derogatory Language on Intergroup Relations and Political Radicalization. Political Psychology, 41: 3-33

  • Prevalence and Psychological Effects of Hateful Speech in Online College Communities

    Prevalence and Psychological Effects of Hateful Speech in Online College Communities

    This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and impact of hateful speech within college communities, where such speech can have particularly harmful psychological and social consequences.

    Regulating hateful speech on college campuses raises complex socio-political challenges, making it essential to assess both how widespread the phenomenon is and how it affects students’ psychological well-being.

    Focusing on the online dimension of campus life, a dataset of approximately six million Reddit comments shared across 174 college-related communities was analyzed.

    To measure the prevalence of hateful speech, the authors introduce the College Hate Index (CHX), which is used to examine the distribution of hateful speech across categories such as behavior, class, disability, ethnicity, gender, physical appearance, race, religion, and sexual orientation. A causal inference framework is then applied to investigate the psychological effects of exposure to hateful speech, particularly through expressions of online stress.

    The analysis also explored differences in psychological endurance by examining language use, discriminatory keywords, and personality traits.

    Findings showed that hateful speech is prevalent in online college communities, with around 25% of college subreddits exhibiting higher levels of hateful speech than non-college subreddits. Exposure to hateful content was associated with increased stress expression, although individuals were not affected equally. Students with lower psychological endurance appear more vulnerable to emotional outbursts and exhibit higher levels of neuroticism compared to those with greater resilience.

    Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.1145/3292522.3326032

    Reference

    Saha, K., Chandrasekharan, E., & De Choudhury, M. (2019). Prevalence and Psychological Effects of Hateful Speech in Online College Communities. Proceedings of the … ACM Web Science Conference. ACM Web Science Conference, 2019, 255–264