statistics
One in four internet users encounters hatred and hate speech
According to statistics, younger Internet users were more likely to be confronted with hate speech online than older ones. (Symbolic image) photo
© Fabian Sommer/dpa
Many are confronted with insults, aggression or disinformation on the Internet. Hate speech and fakes poison the climate. Why are they so dangerous? And what can each individual do?
Whether hate speech or fake news: trolls and agitators rage on the internet and spread hate and disinformation. The Federal Statistical Office has now published new data on the extent to which people in Germany are in contact with people on social media, internet forums or comment columns Misinformation and hate speech are coming.
According to their own assessment, more than a quarter of users in Germany noticed posts online related to hate speech in the first quarter of this year. This means that around 15.8 million people between the ages of 16 and 74 were confronted with hate speech – regardless of whether the posts perceived as hate speech were directed against themselves or against others. “The results don’t surprise us,” says Anna-Lena von Hodenberg from the organization “HateAid” to the German Press Agency. There is now also a habituation effect when it comes to violent language in digital space.
Younger people perceive hate speech more often
According to statistics, younger people are more likely to be confronted with hate speech on the Internet than older people, as the Federal Office announced on Monday in Wiesbaden. More than a third (36 percent) of users between the ages of 16 and 44 observed hostile or demeaning comments. Among those aged 65 to 74 it was only 14 percent. “Younger people are of course much more likely to be online and perceive much more digital violence,” says von Hodenberg. In contrast to older people, it is much more difficult for them to leave digital spaces. “Going out there means social exclusion.”
And what are the most common targets of hate speech? According to statistics, most attacks were perceived to be based on political or social views, followed by attacks based on ethnic origin or racist statements. “Many people no longer dare to share their political opinions online; there is a real silence,” says von Hodenberg. That is extremely dangerous. People would be pushed out of this space – and thus also out of public discourse. “What remains are those who shout the loudest and are the most extreme.”
And, the expert emphasizes: “In the digital world, the toxic breeding ground for aggression and violence is created in the analogue space.” This was shown, for example, by the attacks on journalists, local politicians, police and rescue workers.
Does something untrue come to light?
When surfing the Internet, users also come across false information, so-called fake news. According to the statisticians, almost half of those surveyed (48 percent) saw information that, in their own opinion, was untrue or unreliable.
The crucial question here, however, is: do they actually recognize fake news? “Effective disinformation is so subversive that you don’t even notice that you’ve just fallen for it,” explains Josef Holnburger, managing director of the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS), which investigates radicalization tendencies and conspiracy narratives online.
People’s perceptions are always strongly influenced by their own beliefs. “You tend to believe what fits with your own political attitudes,” says the expert. Then disinformation is often seen as information – or the other way around: the true reporting by established media may even be described as fake.
The intention behind the targeted spread of false claims is often to undermine general trust. “Disinformation also reduces the credibility of people and organizations who have actually always reported correctly or, if a mistake has been made, have cleared it up,” says Holnburger. The truth then appears as a kind of compromise between misinformation and information. “And that’s when it becomes really dangerous because you suddenly don’t believe anyone anymore.”
So everyone can help
What can each individual do against hate speech and fake news? “Don’t be passive, don’t say it’s none of your business,” says von Hodenberg. Instead: “Take a closer look, report posts to the platforms and report them to the police so that there is prosecution.” It is important to show digital moral courage and to support the victims, “for example by writing them a private message or supporting them publicly”. Social media also doesn’t have to stay as it is: “We can demand from politicians that they become safer places.”
The Federal Office pointed out that the data was collected for the first time in 2023 and therefore no comparison with the previous year is possible. They come from the survey on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in private households, in which people aged 16 to 74 were surveyed. In this age range, 92 percent of the population in Germany used the internet in the first quarter of 2023. That corresponded to 57.4 million people.