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Norm violations in comments on social networking sites have raised concerns about the climate of political discourse. In this article, we analyze how comment characteristics and neutralization techniques in potential hate speech comments influence users’ ascription of deviance by reporting negative comments about refugees. We focus on the type of norm violation, subtlety, type of victim, and justifications as comment characteristics. Moreover, we examine the influence of descriptive and injunctive norms on reporting behavior of potential hate comments. Here, we focus on individual’s moral orientation and the perceived level of peer deviance. Results of an online survey ( n = 457) that included a choice-based conjoint design suggest that incitements for violence and direct offenses are more likely to be reported than other types of norm violation and indirect offenses. Moral foundations, indicative of liberal political orientations, fostered reporting behavior, but conservative orientations reduced reporting behavior.

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In the light of a new level of reciprocal visibility in the digital age, the journalist–audience relationship has fundamentally changed. Mutual expectations become visible or evolve anew. The question arises as to how these expectations and their (non-)fulfillment influence the journalist–audience relationship. Taking an interpersonal communication perspective by following expectancy violations theory, we focus on the level of interactions and propose a theoretical framework explaining how the interplay of journalists’ and audience’s mutual expectations affects their relationship. Our aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the journalist–audience relationship in digital media environments—and to provide indications for its functioning or failure.