Online hate crimes
Ina Kamenova, Arie Perliger · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2023
Hate groups and individuals espousing biased ideologies have proliferated online in the 21st century. Racist, misogynist, anti-LGBTQI+, antisemitic, anti-Muslim, anti-government, and other extremist agendas have found active supporters in various corners of the cyber-space, including websites and social media platforms. Hate activities online are manifested both as hate speech, which enables and encourages offline violent hate crimes, as well as disruptive operations against various communities and political organizations. The policy response to the growing threat of online hate crimes is fundamentally different in Europe and the U.K. in comparison to the U.S. While the E.U. and other European countries established various legal mechanisms which make online hate speech a crime - and numerous individuals have been convicted of hate crimes based on their online activities - in the U.S. the focus has been primarily on curbing disruptive attacks and hate speech has been addressed via non-legal measures. This chapter analyzes the ecosystem of online hate activities by utilizing multiple typologies of the operational and ideological characteristics of such activities. Additionally, it provides an overview of the literature and offers a summary of trends and countermeasures. We conclude by stressing the interrelated nature of online and offline hate, potential future trends in online hate crimes, and the challenges in curbing this growing threat.