Hate or no hate
The pandemic fuelled online hate speech. Global youth charity Ditch The Label uncovered a surge in the UK and the US since 2019, reporting that “on average there was a new post about race or ethnicity-based hate speech every 1.7 seconds”. How did we get here and what can we do about it?
The masked slinger
Not all heroes wear masks. Not everyone hiding behind a mask is a hero. The anonymity of the internet abets derogatory behaviour. It is important to remember that it is only a minority of users who sow hatred online, and they should not get more attention than they deserve.
Trolls want to humiliate, inflict pain and create social chaos. Their personality correlates with sadism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism (manipulative behaviour). A new study moreover points to negative social potency (using others for their own benefit) and Ginger Gorman stresses in her book “Troll hunting” a high degree of cognitive empathy but low score on affective empathy. Simply put, a troll can predict how others will feel without sharing the emotional experience.
Trolls know there is safety in numbers, which is why they organise their activities in a pack - in contrast to online haters. Those also score high on psychopathy, which means that you are dealing with someone who rarely fears punishment, seeks thrills and acts impulsively. However, research around the Polish contestants at the Winter Olympic Games revealed no correlation with Machiavellianism and narcissism. The jury is not out yet on gender, envy and verbal aggression; but haters post insults about people based on their ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation or disability.
This leads us to the three other characters: cyberbullies, conspiracy theorists and critics. A cyberbully often acts alone and intimidates a specific person by spreading lies, sending mean messages or sharing embarrassing material. Plenty of parent’s guides provide help yet remember that the material is less effective if the person belongs to another group.
“Everyone believes at least one conspiracy theory,” a Norwegian professor once postulated. Although believing nonsense rather results from a lack of trust than a desire to hurt others, you might still have felt tempted to react from time to time. In order to know with whom you are dealing, don't reply harshly to derogatory comments. Take a moment. Ask questions and see if you can start from a common ground by agreeing softly to a point the other person made.
Bark tank
What shall we do if the person does not want to engage in a dialogue? If we were offline, we could enter into a debate and try to win the argument using Graham’s hierarchy of disagreement (see our earlier post on surgical strikes). Online, you do not want to end up in a dogfight because when it turns dirty, chances are low that you will win.
The algorithms of social media companies favour shouting matches. Luke Munn found in 2020 that “Facebook’s Feed […] privileges incendiary comments, setting up a stimulus–response loop that promotes outrage expression”. Former soccer star Thierry Henry seems to agree. He decided to boycott social media platforms. Fortunately there are other means as well.
One way is to debunk with a source without any personal remarks or further engagement. Michael Begley mentions some successful examples in his “Handy Pocket Guide to Social Media Trolls”. He also rated the trolling showing that he has the upper hand.
Another option is to rebut by reframing the topic. If we reply directly, we can add fuel to the fire or just reinforce the unwanted message. Every time we repeat another person’s statement (even if we negate it), people remember it better. The video below explains a more effective approach to win an argument online: use unfamiliar wording.
Who wants to be a prisoner?
Trolling, hate speech and cyberbullying do not fall under free speech but count as human rights violations. In ARTE’s documentary “#FatUglySlut”, you can learn from brave women how they fought the cowardly trolls. Unfortunately it was not an easy battle with many hurdles to overcome on the way. Some experienced a backslash after blocking trolls. Others struggled in front of the court because of a lack of laws. Policy makers now started to bring forward policies to better regulate these new phenomena.
A few specific examples: The Council of Europe is preparing a Recommendation on addressing online hate speech. The EU issued a Code of Conduct, made it a criminal offence and is working on a plan to punish misogyny and anti-LGBTQ+ comments. A new European Observatory will support the European Commission developing a monitoring tool by 2022 with artificial intelligence at its core. The goal is to protect people but also save money. An Australian study found that online harassment and cyber hate cost its society $3.7bn.
When you face harassment, do not shy away from recording and reporting it. The Fundamental Rights Agency warns that “the vast majority of physical attacks still remain unknown to law enforcement”. When you gather digital evidence, follow this step-by-step guide created by Näthats Hjälpen. You can report it to the police or equality bodies.
Europe’s equality bodies and civil society provide excellent support. For instance, the Finnish Ministry of Justice teamed up with organisations from Finland and Croatia to create a guidebook against hate. The second chapter explaining the legislative framework in the EU Member States. (Follow the Council of Europe’s No Hate Speech and Cooperation Unit if you are looking at European countries outside the EU.) The last 50 pages describe how institutions and civil society organisation fought hate speech and hate crime across Europe. The #IAmHere movement serves as an inspiring example showing that building a supportive community lets love trump hate.
Three tips to handle online hate
Deescalate with a question or by starting from a point of agreement.
Remember the confirmation bias. If you reply, make sure you reframe.
Record posts if you want to report trolls, haters or bullies to the police.
- written by Benjamin Wilhelm, benjamin[at]thedandeliongroup.eu
UPDATE: A big thank you to Estefany for recommending another helpful article! If you find further material, just let us know and we will be happy to share it so that we make our society more inclusive.
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