Chapter 12 —Online Hate

Define hate speech

Expression that denigrates or incites hostility/violence toward individuals or groups based on protected characteristics (e.g., race, ethnicity, religion, gender/identity, sexuality, disability).

What is meant by protected characteristics in hate-speech contexts

Race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex/gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, immigration status, caste, serious disease (as platforms define).

Why is online hate a cybercrime concern

Scale, speed, anonymity, cross-border reach; links to disinformation and offline harms including intimidation and violence.

Three main harm logics of hate speech

(1) Incitement/enabling violence & discrimination; (2) Intrinsic/dignitary and psychological harms; (3) Persuasion/self-perpetuation of prejudice.

Example of legal approach to incitement (US)

Speech can be punished if directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and likely to produce such action.

Example of legal approach (UK)

Criminalizes incitement to racial hatred and extends to religious hatred—does not require imminence of violence.

Intrinsic harms from hate speech

Undermines dignity, induces fear/humiliation; associated with depression, anxiety, reduced performance at work/school.

How hate speech self-perpetuates

Normalizes prejudice; shifts attitudes; provides “vocabularies of motive” that rationalize discrimination and violence.

Evidence linking online hate to offline crime

Studies find anti-Black and anti-Muslim posts predict racially/religiously aggravated crimes.

Why the internet benefits hate groups

Low-cost mass dissemination, anonymity/encryption, recruitment/coordination, tailored propaganda (music/memes), bypass traditional media gatekeepers.

Alt-right meme culture significance

Uses humor/in-jokes (e.g., Pepe) to mainstream extremist narratives and attract young, online-savvy audiences.

Stormfront significance

One of the earliest and most enduring white supremacist hubs (founded 1996) connecting global racist movements.

Targets most frequently hit by online hate

Racial/ethnic minorities, religious minorities (Muslims/Jews), women, LGBTQ+ communities, especially trans people.

Islamophobia online (common frames)

Muslims portrayed as security, cultural, or economic threats; content includes dehumanization and calls for violence.

Antisemitism online (common forms)

Insults and slurs, antisemitic symbols, calls for violence, dehumanization, Holocaust denial; event-driven spikes.

Manosphere/incel communities

Online spaces expressing misogynistic ideologies; routine use of degrading epithets and endorsements of violence/sexual violence against women.

Links between misogynistic speech and violence

Cases like Elliot Rodger and Alek Minassian exemplify online-to-offline radicalization narratives targeting women.

LGBTQ+ hate speech trends

High exposure rates reported; common on Facebook/X/Instagram/YouTube; rising transphobic misgendering and slurs; documented mental health harms.

Define legal pluralism

Variation in laws and enforcement standards across jurisdictions that complicates cross-border online regulation.

Why jurisdiction frustrates enforcement

Content creators, targets, and servers may be in different countries; divergent laws impede investigation and takedown.

US First Amendment and online hate

Protects most hateful speech unless it meets strict incitement or true-threat criteria; creates a de facto global safe haven online.

Argument against criminalizing hate speech

Risk of censorship, definitional ambiguity, chilling effect on political/artistic speech; “answer to bad speech is more speech.”

Doctorow’s position on bad speech

Bad speech is harmful, but censorship is an ineffective, power-skewed remedy; more counter-speech is preferable.

Define trolling

Intentional online provocation/disruption; ranges from pranks to targeted harassment; sits between free speech and abuse.

Define flaming

A form of trolling characterized by direct verbal attacks, insults, and antagonism over hot-button topics.

Case study: “weev”

A troll who later embraced white supremacy; illustrates overlap of provocation, hate speech, and debates on free expression.

Platform response: Facebook policy

Bans hate speech targeting protected traits (violent/dehumanizing speech, stereotypes, inferiority claims, exclusionary calls).

Platform response: Instagram policy

Prohibits hate speech; claims large-scale proactive removals; expanding to implicit forms (e.g., blackface).

Platform response: X policy

Prohibits hateful conduct; uses downranking, removals, and suspensions; enforcement approach may shift with leadership and “free-speech absolutism.”

Displacement effect of moderation

Crackdowns on mainstream platforms push hate content/users to permissive “free speech” alternatives (Gab, Rumble).

Automated moderation shift

From keyword filters to deep-learning models using context, multimodal cues, and sociolinguistic signals to detect hate.

Automation pitfalls in hate detection

False positives/negatives, bias against dialects/minority speech, limited transparency; ethical concerns about algorithmic control of speech.

Why human moderation can’t scale

Vast volumes and velocity of posts exceed human capacity; automation is necessary but imperfect.

Define alt-right

Loose coalition of far-right, white nationalist, and reactionary online communities leveraging meme culture and digital platforms.

Define trolling vs. hate speech

Trolling = provocation/disruption; may morph into or amplify hate speech when targeting protected traits with demeaning/threatening content.

Key challenge for regulators

Balancing harm prevention with free expression across different legal systems and cross-border internet architecture.

Examples of EU/CoE efforts

EU harmonization initiatives; Council of Europe protocol addressing racist/xenophobic online material.

Why platforms matter in governance

Even when law is limited, platforms can set and enforce terms of service to remove hateful content from their spaces.

Core takeaway of Chapter 12

Online hate is pervasive and harmful; legal pluralism and free-speech tensions limit uniform regulation; platforms and AI are central but imperfect tools.