SOCIAL NETWORKS
Fear is more effective than hate
Negative emotions spread particularly quickly via social networks, but there are gradations here, too: According to a new study, fear spreads faster than hate.
For the study (archive), a U.S. team analyzed 400,000 posts intended to spread fear and 700,000 hate speech posts on the social network "Gab." "Gab" was chosen because posts with hateful language are not removed due to the loose moderation, unlike other platforms. The structure of "Gab" is reminiscent of Twitter: text posts with a length of up to 3,000 characters can be posted. These posts can be shared, and it is possible to mention other users, thus speeding up dissemination. "Gab" was used in 2021 to plan the storming of the U.S. Capitol. The study also included data from Twitter. Moderation there is stricter; posts that violate the guidelines are removed.
Fear speech vs. hate speech
The goal of "fear speech" is to spread fear of certain minorities - for example, by publishing statements based on false allegations. In addition, these posts often include links to websites that contain further misinformation, up to and including conspiracy theories. Posts with fear speech are more often liked and shared on "Gab" than hate speech posts. In addition, users who post a lot of content with the aim of spreading fear usually have more followers than those who frequently post hateful posts. People who post "fear speech" often mention other users in it. People who spread hate speech on the platform rarely do so.
Under the radar
"Fear speech" also occurs on other social networks like Facebook and Twitter in addition to "Gab." While hate speech is usually removed quickly and effectively there with moderation systems, however, these systems do not recognize fear speech. This is because these posts often refrain from using derogatory language. In addition, they are usually more subtle, which is why the algorithms of the moderation systems cannot distinguish fear speech posts from normal posts. According to the research team, it is necessary to take measures against the spread of "fear speech" in social media because fear, just like hate, can lead to radicalization.
Georg Binder, Ö1 Science
Source (German)
