Finally, the day of reckoning has arrived for internet platforms that were once a haven for harassment and hate speech.
Since time immemorial, we have known that hate speech can harm individuals, communities, and societies. Those targeted by hateful words can experience mental, emotional, and physical consequences, which can impact a person's self-worth. Many are fearing for their lives, live with anxiety and depression, and resort to self-harm or suicide.
Hate speech negatively affects our relationships with one another. It destroys our ability to talk peacefully and empathize. All too often, hateful content relies on scapegoating and stereotypes, which in turn interferes with our ability to find the root causes of social issues. This is why hate content has the ability to destroy communities, even when it targets individuals.
That being said, not all people who engage in online hate speech end up doing violent crimes. However, a lot of people who commit hate crimes have pointed their fingers on the internet as their source of inspiration for such hateful acts.
The most dangerous thing about turning a blind eye toward hate content is that it can normalize discrimination, targeted violence, and outbreaks of hate crimes. Hate content can influence how people think, as it exploits social struggles around ethnicity and race, which in turn makes social rifts worse. Hate speech is designed so that it will inflame one's emotions, preventing people from distinguishing the truth from the falsity of the claim.
If you've been reading the news, by now you already know about the move tech giants are doing in an effort to defeat hate speech on their respective platforms. Facebook had recently banned "boogaloo" groups, while YouTube announced it would kick white supremacists iff if its platform, including Richard Spencer and David Duke -- may of whom are supporters of U..S. President Donald Trump.
Reddit once and for all took down The_Donald subreddit due to repeated incidents of hate speech and harassment. Twitch, meanwhile, suspended Trump's campaign account citing "hateful content."
These are all commendable, but it's worth noting that hateful content has been floating around online platforms for years. Tech giants only took action when the opinion of the public is on the line -- only then they did something about it.
Harassment and hate speech is still widespread on social media. It simply will not end by acknowledging it. Tech giants need to make sure that hate has no place on their platform now and in the future.
