Assessing Hate Speech Harm

This project investigates how bystanders’ response to a hate speech incident affects one of its core dimensions: the public perception of the harm it causes to victims and society.

Using experimental methods from cognitive sciences, we explore whether ordinary citizens perceive hate speech incidents as more harmful when they occur in front of silent/passive bystanders, whether they find a voicing-opposition response helpful in reducing the harm and whether a collective opposition reduces the damage better than an individual.

Our proposal highlight the importance of exploring collective instead of individual  responses to societal problems such as hate speech that engage ordinary citizens in the defense of democratic principles of equality and respect for diversity.