Reporting Hate Comments: Investigating the Effects of Deviance Characteristics, Neutralization Strategies, and Users’ Moral Orientation

Abstract

<jats:p> 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. </jats:p>

Do “Good Citizens” fight hate speech online? Effects of solidarity citizenship norms on user responses to hate comments

“…The present study sets out to test effects of both of these factors. Firstly, to find further support for previous empirical findings (Kalch & Naab, 2017;Leonhard et al, 2018;Wilhelm, Joeckel, & Ziegler, 2019), we investigate whether the willingness to engage in OCI increases when users are exposed to comments that contain obvious hate speech compared to more subtle disparaging forms of speech. Secondly, we examine the impact of an individual's support for citizenship norms on engagement in OCI.…”

“…The most obvious versions of hate speech contain defamations, insults, or incitements to violence (Chen, 2017;Erjavec & Kovacic, 2012;Hanzelka & Schmidt, 2017;Wilhelm et al, 2019). However, hate speech can also be more subtle, and the lines between solely disparaging acts of speech and hate speech may be blurry at times.…”

“…Secondly, we examine the impact of an individual's support for citizenship norms on engagement in OCI. Thereby, we aim to add to the extant knowledge of a small but growing body of research that has shown that individual characteristics, such as personal attitudes toward social groups on the receiving end of hate speech (Kalch & Naab, 2017) or individuals' moral orientation (Wilhelm & Joeckel, 2018;Wilhelm et al, 2019), influence engagement in OCI.…”

Moral “foundations” as the product of motivated social cognition: Empathy and other psychological underpinnings of ideological divergence in “individualizing” and “binding” concerns

“…Endorsement of the “individualizing foundations”—fairness and harm avoidance—on the other hand, is negatively associated with these same antisocial tendencies—as one would expect from a “moral” motivation. For instance, people who endorse the “individualizing foundations” are significantly more likely to donate to various charities and report online hate speech, whereas people who endorse the “binding foundations” are significantly less likely to do these things [ 47 , 48 ]. Furthermore, people who endorse the “binding foundations” are more likely to condone unethical business activities, whereas people who endorse the “individualizing foundations” are more likely to condemn them [ 49 ].…”

Gendered (in)visibility in digital media contexts

“…Additionally, in social media women are faced with rape threats that are neu tralized by elements of humor such as the use of emoticons (Drakett et al, 2018). In this way, and similar to using justifications and excuses in hate comments against other vulnerable social groups (Wilhelm, Joeckel, & Ziegler, 2020), violence against women is downplayed, which is likely to increase the acceptance of such posts by a wider audience. Humor focusing on gen der, race, sexuality, or sexual activities in the context of victimblaming in social media can increase sexual violence issues (StubbsRichardson et al, 2018).…”