Competence network against hate on the internet: How hate on the internet threatens diversity of opinion

Insults and threats are part of everyday life for many Internet users – and, according to a representative study, are causing people to increasingly withdraw from political discourse online. According to the study published by the Competence Network against Hate on the Internet, 57 percent of those surveyed participate less frequently in discussions on the Internet because of fear. Almost as many say they deliberately word their contributions more carefully. 89 percent of those surveyed have the impression that hate online has increased in recent years.

The study entitled Loud Hate – Quiet Withdrawal also provides insights into how widespread insults and other forms of hate speech are on the Internet. 49 percent of those surveyed said they had already been insulted online. According to their own statements, 25 percent were confronted with physical violence and 13 percent with sexual violence. 42 percent of the young women surveyed had already been harassed by being sent a naked photo without asking. Hate on the Internet is a separate category in the study. One in eight people feel affected by this.

Stalking, doxing and dick pics

The study defines online hate as a “variety of different online phenomena, including derogatory, degrading, intimidating or hateful online phenomena directed at people or certain groups of people.” Hate on the Internet goes beyond so-called hate speech, the authors write. As examples of hate on the Internet, they cite racist memes, sending so-called dick pics, stalking and so-called doxing, the digital publication of private data such as addresses.

Digital violence is closely linked to analog violence, the study emphasizes. Hatred on the Internet is also intertwined with the spread of disinformation, which in turn often comes from right-wing extremist and right-wing populist actors.

Basically, hate on the internet can affect anyone, as the study says. However, the results of the survey show that different population groups are affected to different degrees. 30 percent of the people surveyed with a visible migration background said they experienced hate online. According to their own statements, young women are affected just as often, and people with a homosexual or bisexual orientation are similarly affected, at 28 and 36 percent respectively.

Study warns that marginalized groups are becoming silent

Those directly affected by online hate were particularly likely to say they were less likely to express their own political opinions online and were less likely to take part in discussions. The authors write that the diversity of opinions also suffers from hatred on the Internet: In the democratic discourse on the Internet, it is primarily marginalized or disadvantaged groups that are silenced by the problem.

However, according to the study, whether content or actions on the Internet are perceived as hate depends on another factor: those who are politically more left-wing perceive hate on the Internet more often than people with different political views. Sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender, education or East-West differences play a smaller role in the perception of hate online.

Other studies in the past have also found that online hate attacks cause people to withdraw from online debates. Central to this was the study Hate on the Internet: The Creeping Attack on Our Democracy (PDF), published in 2019 by the Institute for Democracy and Civil Society (IDZ), which dealt with the dangers of digital hate speech after the murder of CDU politician Walter Lübcke by a right-wing extremist . The IDZ study and a Forsa survey commissioned by the North Rhine-Westphalia Media Authority last year also support the findings of the new survey, according to which certain population groups are more affected by hate online than others.

Call for more political regulation

The study authors are calling for politicians to take stronger action against hate online. Among other things, they demand more support for those affected, for example through advice centers. There is also a need for a “national media literacy education offensive”, for which the federal and state governments would have to provide billions in funding, similar to the so-called digital pact. The large social media platforms would also have to be held responsible: They would have to bear the costs of the social damage caused by hate and disinformation.

The competence network against hate on the Internet is a coalition of the organizations Das NETTZ, Society for Media Education and Communication Culture, HateAid, jugendschutz.net, and New German Media Makers. For the study, the network, in collaboration with the research company pollytix strategic research, surveyed 3,061 internet users aged 16 and over nationwide between October 23rd and November 3rd, 2023.

Insults and threats are part of everyday life for many Internet users – and, according to a representative study, are causing people to increasingly withdraw from political discourse online. According to the study published by the Competence Network against Hate on the Internet, 57 percent of those surveyed participate less frequently in discussions on the Internet because of fear. Almost as many say they deliberately word their contributions more carefully. 89 percent of those surveyed have the impression that hate online has increased in recent years.

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