How to Counter Hate Speech Online: What Research Shows
Spain’s Racism and Xenophobia Observatory reported a spike in hateful social-media posts coinciding with the arrival of thousands of Moroccan migrants in the autonomous city of Ceuta.
Credit: Abu Adem Muhammad/Anadolu/Getty
Is society losing the battle against hate speech?
Hate speech — language that attacks individuals or groups based on their characteristics or identities — is rising around the world. It can be triggered by events ranging from elections and immigration crises to this year’s men’s soccer World Cup. Hostile posts targeting South Asians in the United States increased by 240% on the social-media platform X between January 2024 and June 2026.
Hateful speech can deepen social divisions, promote an “us versus them” narrative and increase political polarization. Divisive rhetoric can also be amplified by artificial-intelligence-generated content and bot accounts.
Scientists are studying these phenomena to identify effective ways to counter online hate. Mirta Galesic, co-leader of the Collective Mind research group at Vienna’s Complexity Science Hub, studies hate speech and counterspeech. Galesic spoke with Nature about strategies for dealing with hateful discourse online.
Why is it important to study hate speech now?
In some countries, polarization is especially pronounced. This includes “emotional polarization”, in which people dislike those who hold different political views.
Rising inequality, shifts in power, armed conflict and dysfunctional institutions can create uncertainty. That uncertainty can easily be channeled into hatred against particular groups of people.
Psychologist Mirta Galesic is co-leader of the Collective Mind research group in Vienna, which studies how groups change beliefs, make decisions and organize.
Credit: Anja Boek
Studying hate speech is extremely important, especially now that AI tools make it easy to create fake photos and videos that encourage people to think the worst about others. Everyone should be able to recognize that they are susceptible to manipulation.
How do researchers investigate online hate speech?
Galesic and her colleagues analyzed more than 1 million posts made on Twitter, now known as X, between January 2015 and December 2018. The posts responded to around 130,000 posts by German news organizations, journalists, bloggers and politicians.
The study began during what was known as the “migration crisis” in Germany. More than one million refugees and asylum seekers moved to Germany after a policy change allowed them to apply for residency from Germany rather than from the European Union country where they first arrived.
In a subsequent study, the researchers used a large-scale language model to measure hate during online conversations. They also categorized the many ways that people responded to one another and identified the most effective strategies for countering hate speech.
What is the best way to counter hate speech online?
If you see hate speech online, consider it your responsibility to oppose it. You can simply say, “I don’t agree.” You do not need to have an elaborate discussion. The goal is not necessarily to change the mind of the person who posted the comment, but to show other readers that a different opinion exists.
Then ask your friends to join you and make clear that they also disagree.
Finally, if you meet someone who holds a different opinion, do not dismiss them. Learn more about them and find out what you share. After that, it may be easier to contact them.
People can be especially susceptible to extreme cases online, where anxiety and fear may be amplified. Humans are highly social beings and adjust to their environment. The more something is discussed, the more extreme people’s opinions can become.
That is why it is so important to show up and say, “I disagree.”
Source: www.nature.com