What is hate speech?

Hate speech occurs if people are publicly insulted, put down or threatened online or if violence is encouraged. It also includes threats of rape and incitement to suicide.

Such aggressive messages often come from a large number of people at the same time, usually in response to a specific post or an article published online. This is often referred to as a ‘hatestorm’ or ‘shitstorm’.

Hate speech is often committed by strangers with political motivations. They want to intimidate progressive people, academics or activists in order to oust them from digital spaces.