Article / Media Creation of Anti-refugee Hate Speech in Facebook Comments

A new study presented in the journal the Public provides an in-depth analysis of anti-refugee hate speech in Facebook comments. In their article “Media Creation of Anti-refugee Hate Speech in Facebook Comments “, Veronika Bajt and Ajda Šulc examine how the topic of migration has been presented and commented on in a period of increased migration from the Middle East, Africa and Asia to Europe. Slovenia, as a country on the Western Balkans migration route, experienced an increase in hate speech in 2015, especially on social media. An analysis of 6,545 online comments on posts by selected news media in the period 2012-2017 combines quantitative and qualitative approaches and reveals key patterns of hate speech against refugees. The authors find that the most violent comments are provoked by sensationalist articles that portray the topic of migration through the prism of deviant acts by refugees. This confirms the thesis that media coverage not only reflects but also co-creates hate speech. Digital platforms based on the attention economy further encourage the spread of negative discourses, as sensationalist content attracts more interactions and thus a greater reach.