Web 2.0 opened up for a lot of opportunities, digital spaces became open for everyone to participate. But if groups of people get harassed and threatened in this spaces, how does that affect participation? Threats, hateful comments and harassment is a phenomenon that appears to be a common part of life online. Some groups of people may experience this more then others. To investigate this further a qualitative study was conducted using two different methods of internet research; observation and interview online. I wanted to study how cyber hate take the expression against female bloggers that write about feminism. The women that participated in this study have all been harassed and received threats online of various kinds. The blogs that were observed all write about subjects that question and criticize social structures and norms that many take for granted. This seems to spark hatred and threats against these female bloggers. The interviewed bloggers had different strategies for dealing with cyber hate they received. One example of this is that they all review the comments before posted on the blog. A problem that a majority of the bloggers expressed was that general public and the justice system did not take cyber hate seriously. Some people that threats and post hateful comments do that with their full name exposed.  The study indicates that anonymity didn’t play that big part, as first expected, in how people expresses themselves online.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-05-10T12:55:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Denis Augusto Carneiro Lobo.pdf: 2377689 bytes, checksum: ec66c81fcf1d6584b5311171b0eae5c2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-10T12:55:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Denis Augusto Carneiro Lobo.pdf: 2377689 bytes, checksum: ec66c81fcf1d6584b5311171b0eae5c2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-04-09 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This master’s thesis analyses the constitution of the so-called Hate Speech in Digital Social Networks (DSNs), specifically, on Facebook. Starting from users’ text interactions in public Facebook pages of the 2014 presidential candidates Dilma Rousseff (Workers Party) and Aécio Neves (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) during the presidential run (August to October 2014), I’ve searched for the characterization of this phenomena within a political-party polarization scenario. Focusing in the political constitution of the referred phenomena, I’ve then evidenced the difference between the legal concept of Hate Speech and a more widespread phenomena, which worked in this scenario as a political component of the social interactions: the political hate. Furthermore, the debate gets centralized in the mediation process of social interactions in an Instant Communication Technology (ICTs) scenario, in search of a confluence with the Latin American studies about the process of technological and communicational mediation, its diferences and implications in an Interactional Sociology. Finally, having analysed such studies as a theorical and methodological background, I've presented a discussion about the importance of the new computational techniques such as "filter bubbles", "social bots" and User Experience (UX) in the daily life of today's liberal democracies, leading the debate to the establishment of "fear techniques", clearly an expression of the so-called "Fear Culture", to which many authors refeer today / Esta dissertação analisou a constituição do chamado Discurso de Ódio nas Redes Sociais Digitais (RSDs), mais especificamente no Facebook. Partindo das interações textuais dos usuários nas páginas públicas dos candidatos à Presidência da República no ano de 2014, Dilma Rousseff (PT) e Aécio Neves (PSDB), durante o pleito eleitoral (agosto a outubro de 2014), buscou-se a caracterização desse fenômeno dentro de um cenário de polarização político-partidária. Voltando o olhar para a constituição política do fenômeno em questão, buscou-se a diferenciação da figura jurídica do Discurso de Ódio de um fenômeno mais capilar, que funcionou como componente político das interações societárias nesse cenário: o ódio político. Além disso, centralizamos o debate nas interações sociais e na mediação das Tecnologias de Comunicação Instantânea (TCIs), buscando uma confluência com o pensamento latino-americano sobre os processos de mediação tecnológica e comunicacional e suas diferenciações e implicações em uma Sociologia Interacionista. Buscou-se também, a partir desse arcabouço teórico-metodológico, discutir os pesos das novas técnicas computacionais, como a “bolha de filtros”, os “social bots”, “fake news” e as técnicas de User Experience (UX) no cotidiano das democracias liberais atuais, direcionando o debate para o estabelecimento de “técnicas do medo”, visivelmente assentados na chamada “Cultura do Medo”, a qual muitos pesquisadores recorrem na atualidade

Det finns många fördelar med sociala medier men likväl flera baksidor. Baksidorna inom denna kontext inkluderar kränkningar, trakasserier och hot. Näthat som begrepp är dessutom svårdefinierat, vilket gör ämnet än mer relevant att diskutera. För att lyfta diskussionen kring näthat på sociala medier ämnar detta projekt utforma en prototyp till en interaktiv produkt för unga. Den interaktiva produkten ska fungera i undervisningen på högstadie- och gymnasienivå som ett engagerande verktyg gällande näthat. Syftet med projektet är således att engagera unga gällande näthat på sociala medier. För att skapa en prototyp till en interaktiv produkt som engagerar unga gällande näthat på sociala medier ansåg vi experter och potentiella användare relevanta att undersöka. Projektet genomfördes därför med en kvalitativ forskningsansats genom enskilda intervjuer samt fokusgrupper. De enskilda intervjuerna genomfördes med experter inom området näthat och fokusgrupper med potentiella användare, i åldersspannet 13–19 år. Resultatet från undersökningen analyserades utifrån projektets teoretiska ramverk i form av motstrategier på sociala medier, interaktionsdesign och serious games. Därefter lyfte vi fram de teman som var extra framträdande och av störst relevans för projektet. Det empiriska materialet användes således för att identifiera de krav och behov den interaktiva produkten bör uppfylla. Projektet visar att den interaktiva produkten bör kunna användas regelbundet och vara av spelkaraktär. Vi identifierade tre framträdande kategorier som extra viktiga att inkludera i vår prototyp; motstrategier, definitionen av näthat samt genus. Utefter resultatet från projektet skapade vi en prototyp till ett interaktivt spel i form av en mobilapplikation med integrerad diskussion i klassrummet. / There are many benefits with social media but nevertheless several downsides. The downsides within this context includes violations, harassment and threats. Online hate speech as a concept is difficult to define, which makes the question even more relevant to discuss. In order to highlight the discussion about online hate speech on social media, this project will design a prototype for an interactive product adapted for youngsters. The interactive product shall work as an engaging complement when teaching youngsters about online hate speech. To create an interactive product who engage youngsters regarding online hate speech on social media we deemed experts and potential users as relevant to examine. The project therefore implemented a qualitative research approach through individual interviews and focus groups. The individual interviews were implemented with experts within the field of online hate speech and the focus groups with potential users, 13–19-year-olds. The results of the examination were analyzed based on the project’s theoretical framework, in the form of counter-strategies on social media, interaction design and serious games. The most prominent themes and the ones of the highest relevance for the project were subsequently highlighted. The empirical material was used to identify the requirements and needs that the interactive product should meet. The project shows that the interactive product should be able to be used regularly and be of game character. Three prominent categories were identified as extra important to include in our prototype; counter strategies, the definition of online hate speech and gender issues. Following the results from the project, a prototype was created for an interactive game in the form of a mobile application with integrated discussion in the classroom.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people (LGBTI) are discriminated and subjected to violence in societies across the world, and ensuring their rights is on the international agenda. On a European level, nationalism, state-led persecution and rhetoric of hate have slowed down the process of ensuring human rights for LGBTI people particularly in Eastern Europe, where they are subject to violence, discrimination and hostility. One type of hostility targeting LGBTI people is hate speech. As literature has shown, hate speech can have harmful effects on its targets. Additionally, with the increased accessibility and use of the Internet and social media networks, hate speech has become more widespread and new challenges have appeared. Our research objective has addressed the gap identified by Brown (2018); to contribute to the research on hate speech and its harmful effects in general, comparing the effects of online and offline hate speech in particular. Additionally, by comparing the findings from Moldova and Ukraine, we have investigated if the context in which the hate speech is produced has any effect on the harmful effects experienced by targets. The research was conducted using a mixed method with a parallel convergent design, giving equal priority to qualitative and quantitative data. Data collection took place in Moldova (Chisinau) and in Ukraine (Kyiv) during Pride in the respective countries. Due to the nature of this research, results are not representative, and conclusions drawn can neither be applied to the entire LGBTI community in Moldova nor in Ukraine. Conclusions can, however, provide interesting insights for further research. Constitutive and consequential harms from online and offline hate speech are experienced by the LGBTI activists and community in both countries. In terms of constitutive harms, LGBTI community have suffered from harms like negative impact on self-esteem, silencing, psychological distress and restrictions on freedom of movement and association. Experienced consequential harms were negative stereotyping, physical violence and normalization of discrimination. Further, this research indicated that there is a difference in terms of harms caused by online and offline hate speech when it comes to the constitutive harms, as the harms from offline hate speech seemed to be experienced to a larger extent. Comparing results from Moldova and Ukraine, it can be concluded that the content of hate speech and harmful effects of hate speech are experienced differently depending on the context in which hate speech was produced. In general, hate speech in Ukraine seemed to be more violent and aggressive while in Moldova it was more related to the structural violence.

This study was conducted to identify and analyse Mail and Guardian Online moderation outputs which contradicted the platform‟s own stated policy on hate speech and other forms of problematic speech. The moderation outputs considered were a battery of readers‟ comments that were posted in response to Thought Leader blogs on xenophobia published between May and June, 2008. This was the same period a series of xenophobic attacks was taking place in some parts of South Africa, leaving an estimated 62 people dead, more than 30,000 displaced, and countless victims injured and robbed of their property. The attacks were a catalytic moment that enabled a whole range of discursive positions to be articulated, defended, contested and given form in the media. They also made visible the potential tensions between free speech on the one hand, and hate and other problematic speech on the other. Using qualitative methods of thematic content analysis, document review, individual interviews, and an eclectic approach of framing analysis and rhetorical argumentation, this study found instances of divergence between the M&G policy and practice on User Generated Content. It found that some moderator-approved content advocated hate, hatred, hostility, incitement to violence and/or harm, and unfair discrimination against foreign residents, contrary to the M&G policy which is informed by the constitutional provisions in both section 16 of the Bill of Rights and section 10 of the Equality Act. Based on examples in the readers‟ comments of how „the foreigner‟ was made to signify unemployment, poverty, disease, unfair competition, and all manner of deprivation, and bearing in mind how such individuals have also become a site for the violent convergence of different unresolved tensions in the country, the study‟s findings argue that the M&G – a progressive paper dealing with a potentially xenophobic readership (at least a portion of it) – should have implemented its policy on acceptable speech more effectively. The study also argues that the unjustifiable reference to foreigners as makwerekwere, illegals, illegal aliens, parasites, invaders and border jumpers, among other terms, assigned them a diminished place – that of unwanted foreigner – thereby reproducing the order of discourse that utilises nationality as a space for the expurgation of the „other‟. The study argues that the use of bogus (inflated) immigration statistics and repeated reference to the foreigners‟ supposedly parasitic relationship to the country‟s resources also unfairly constructed them as the „threatening other‟ and potentially justified action against them.