Online hate directed at politicians
An increasing number of politicians receive violent threats, and many are the victim of online hate. This climate of intimidation can undermine democratic debate and discourage people from entering or remaining in public service. To address these issues, a clear understanding of the nature and scope of online hate directed at politicians is needed. An analysis of nearly two million messages on X (formerly Twitter) directed at Dutch party leaders reveals how online hate manifests.
Natural language processing methods were used to map out the phenomenon in terms of its scope and features. It was found that messages aimed at male politicians are more often toxic and hateful in nature. At the same time, messages directed at female politicians with an ethnic minority background are the most threatening. In addition, follow-up research shows that these messages often refer to conspiracy theories, suggesting that such narratives play a role in amplifying online hate toward politicians.