New film highlights ESRC research on online harms
A new BBC Ideas film highlights ESRC-funded research from HateLab on the correlation between online hate speech and offline hate crimes. The research explores how social media algorithms amplify human psychological tendencies toward conflict.
Why it matters
Understanding the link between digital content and real-world violence is critical for developing safer online environments and policy interventions.
Research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) into the spread of online hate and its real-world impact is featured in a new BBC Ideas film.
Credit: imbarney22, Getty Images E+ via Getty Image
HateLab , led by Professor Matthew Williams of Cardiff University, has shown that spikes in online hate speech can be followed by increases in hate crime offline.
This highlights the growing consequences of digital harms for society.
The film, 'Is the internet broken?', explores how the internet has evolved and how research is helping to understand and respond to emerging online risks.
Online hate speech and misinformation have become major societal challenges, amplified by the growth of social media.
Between 2012 and 2023, police-recorded hate crimes in England and Wales rose by 252%, while more than half of young people aged 12 to 15 report seeing hateful content online.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in