The latest poll on online abuse shows that hatred is continuing to spread on the Internet. — dpa
The latest poll on online abuse shows that hatred is continuing to spread on the Internet, with 78% of Internet users surveyed in Germany saying they've experienced hateful comments.
That's 11 percentage points higher than in the previous year, the study found. At the same time the number of people who write hateful comments hasn't changed. Only one percent of those surveyed admitted to posting such comments themselves.
The study points to even higher amount of online abuse than previously polled in other countries. A Pew Research Center study in 2017 found 41% of Americans had been harassed online. Last year Amnesty International found 23% of women surveyed in Europe, North America and New Zealand had experienced online abuse.
The latest study was carried out by Forsa and commissioned by Germany's State Media Authority, the NRW. It interviewed 1,008 users in Germany over 14. The results were strongly age-dependent – among 14 to 24-year-olds, 96% have experienced hateful comments.
Some 39% of respondents say they have the impression that hate comments on the net actually outweigh factual and objective contributions. At the same time, the number of those who say that they actively take action against the comments has increased.
"The results show that we have a lot of hate but few haters on the Internet. This shows that there is a chance to get a grip on the increasing hatred on the Internet," says Tobias Schmid, director of the media authority behind the poll. — dpa
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