Socially Destructive! Effects of Hateful User Comments on Recipients’ Prosocial Behavior

• In Event: Impact of Social Attention, Virality, and Engagement

Abstract

Many online discussions among users of news media platforms are characterized by a high degree of incivility and sometimes even hate speech. Existing research has investigated effects of uncivil and hateful user comments on recipients’ opinions and attitudes. Yet, it has been largely unexplored whether the repeated exposure to these comments has detrimental behavioral consequences. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, we investigated the effects of hateful comments on recipients’ prosocial behavior. Using an online experiment with a demographically heterogeneous sample, we tested whether reading hateful user comments against refugees reduces participants’ donation behavior in favor of a refugee aid organization. The results reveal a direct effect of reading hate comments on participants’ attitudes towards donating in favor of refugees as well as indirect effects on their intention to donate and on the amount of donated money. These results raise questions regarding the limits of free opinion expression online.

Authors

• Marc Ziegele, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz

• Christina Koehler, U of Mainz

• Mathias Weber, U Mainz