Feeling the hate: analysis of the perceived severity of hate speech in the Spanish population

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the opinions, attitudes, and perceptions of the population regarding seriousness of hate speech (HS) that is spread on the Internet. For that purpose, a self-made survey was conducted on a sample of 1,022 people aged over 16 residing in Spain. The results allow us to conclude that the surveyed population generally perceives hate speech to be highly serious. The analysis also enabled to identify four types of hate speech: racist and exclusionary hatred, sexist and gender hatred, violent and ironic hatred, and ideological hatred. Variables such as age, gender, ideology, education level, social media usage frequency or individuals' stand on hate speech, contribute to discerning their sensitivity levels towards these hate speech variations.