Project Synopsis
Title: Online hate speech: contents, networks and effects on hate crime
While the interest of researchers and policy-makers towards online hate speech is growing, its impact on the offline world is still to be assessed. In fact, most research has been focusing either on online hate speech or on hate crime, letting the questions on their potential links unanswered. Few articles have so far investigated both phenomena and they reached different conclusions (see Williams et al., 2020; Wiedlitzka et al, 2021). A systematic literature will be conducted to shed light on how online hate speech and hate crime are related and under which socio-economic and political circumstances the relation becomes stronger. The review will provide an overview of scientific evidence and of most frequent methods and theories, identifying consolidated knowledge and gaps. Drawing on the results, a theoretical model will be developed to conceptualize the influential mechanisms between online hate speech and hate crime. A comprehensive approach will be adopted to proceed from the micro to the macro level without simplifying the structural and cultural processes of racism and social inequality. Lastly, the model will be tested in an empirical study with data from social media, police records and civil society organizations. Results will not only contribute to the academic literature, but also inform policy-makers on how to act against the spreading of hate both in the online and offline worlds.
early stage researcher
ESR10 Laura Dellagiacoma, PhD Candidate at Institute for Democracy and Civil Society

supervisor(s)
Prof. Tobias Rothmund, University of Jena, political psychology, disinformation interventions and social justice concerns

Outputs
Dellagiacoma, L. (2023). Hate Speech on Social Media Platforms: Evidence From the Victims’ and the Perpetrators’ Perspectives. In: Bergsmo, M. & Manocha K. (Eds.), Religion, Hateful Expression and Violence (pp.703 – 732). TOAP Publication Series No. 41 (2023). https://www.toaep.org/ps-pdf/41-bergsmo-manocha/
Dellagiacoma, L. (2023, July 10th). “The Empirical Links between Hate Speech Online & Hate Crime: a Systematic Review” [Conference Presentation]. International Society for Political Psychology (ISPP) Annual Meeting, Montreal (Canada) – Session 45: Hate Crime, Human Rights and Victimization – Link: https://ispp.eventsair.com/ispp-2023-annual-meeting/schedule
Dellagiacoma, L. (2022, November, 10 – 12). The empirical links between online hate speech and hate crime: a systematic literature review [Conference Presentation]. Workshop on Aggression, Workshop on Aggression (uni-jena.de)
Dellagiacoma, L. (2022, October 18 – 19 ). Intersectional Analyses on the Exposure and Impact of Online Hate Speech [Conference Presentation]. International Workshop on Hate Speech – an Interdisciplinary Approach, Berlin, Germany, Hate Speech – International Workshops: Haifa and Berlin – Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions
Dellagiacoma, L., Geschke, D., Rothmund, T. (2022, June 09 – 10). Ideological attitudes as predictors of online hate speech [Conference Presentation]. Conference on Online Hostility and Bystanders, Aarhus, Denmark, Conference on Online Hostility and Bystanders.
Dellagiacoma, L., Geschke, D., Rothmund, T. (2022, June 09 – 10). Ideological attitudes as predictors of online hate speech [Conference Presentation]. Congress of the German Society for Psychology, Hildesheim Germany, Program – DGPs Congress 2022 (uni-hildesheim.de)
Dellagiacoma, L. (2022, January 17 – 19). Online platforms users and the perpetration of online hate speech: the opposite effects of right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation [Conference Presentation]. International Workshop on Hate Speech – an Interdisciplinary Approach, Haifa, Israel/online, https://youtu.be/pxyRit4SgFU
Hate Online through an Intersectional Perspective. An online presentation by Laura Dellagiacoma, L. (2022, February, 24) for the Women Council of Thuringia. Weblink: Hass im Netz – Ausmaß erkennen, Taten verfolgen, Prävention stärken | Landesfrauenrat Thüringen (landesfrauenrat-thueringen.de)
Online Hate Speech: from the effects on victims to the ideological motivations of perpetrators. Presentation by Laura Dellagiacoma (2022, June 21) within the Summer School of the Global-MINDS – European Master in the Psychology of Global Mobility, Inclusion, and Diversity in Society, University of Limerick.