Hate reports quadrupled in the fourth quarter of 2020 alone. 82 percent are related to the Covid-19 pandemic. BanHate initiators warn of the increasing danger of violence and hostility to democracy.
These are figures that dramatically demonstrate the currently charged mood in Austria: In their current online hate report, the initiators of the app BanHate (www.banhate.com) are now publishing the latest statistics on hate online in Austria. A total of 3,215 reports were received via the BanHate app last year, 76 percent more than in 2019. An alarming deterioration in the situation was particularly evident in the last quarter of the previous year. From the beginning of the so-called second lockdown in November, 1,694 hate posts were reported by the end of the year. This corresponds to almost four times (3.7) the average monthly value from 2019. 82 percent of the reports are related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
For Daniela Grabovac, who launched BanHate in 2017 as Europe's first app for reporting hate postings, these numbers reflect a hateful mood that is not only expressed on the Internet.
The extremism and anti-discrimination expert recognizes an increasing danger of radicalization, violence and hostility to democracy: “Extremist groups are exploiting the current situation to stir up fear and divide society. The mobilization potential increases through social media, some groups have an influx of 100 to 200 people per day.” Grabovac warns against downplaying people’s fears. “We see in the content of the reported hate posts that they are often about uncertainty. People look for explanations and find them in conspiracy stories. People’s concerns and fears must be taken seriously.”
As the evaluations of the BanHate app show (multiple answers possible), people's hatred is largely directed against "political views" (29 percent of all reports) or directly against politicians (20 percent) or has National Socialist slogans or re-activation ( 21 percent) as a basis. The measures to contain the pandemic are often compared to National Socialism or dictatorial systems in the hate posts reported. Almost every tenth reported hate posting (9 percent) is directed against Jews (anti-Semitism).
30 percent of hate reports are based on conspiracy stories or fake news, and 22 percent of all reports have xenophobia as a background. Grabovac: “Prosecuting online hate is important. However, we will only achieve relaxation and improvement if we as a society also address people's real and serious fears. This is about education and prevention and, above all, about listening to people again.”
Of all 3,215 reports of hate postings received via the BanHate app last year, 1,750 reports were forwarded to the responsible authorities in Austria and Germany or reported. Reported hate postings are not prosecuted for various reasons - for example because they are not criminally relevant, are deleted before being processed by the responsible authority or because they relate to private criminal offenses. Grabovac: “The BanHate app works like a seismograph when it comes to detecting hateful sentiment in our society. And this seismograph is currently swinging more powerfully than ever before.”
About BanHate
With the introduction of BanHate, Europe's first app for reporting hate postings, the Styrian Anti-Discrimination Agency based in Graz has detailed figures from all over Austria on the subject of online hate. The initiator of BanHate is Daniela Grabovac, head of the Styrian Anti-Discrimination Agency and the Styrian Extremism Prevention Agency “next – no to extremism”. Since the app was launched on April 19, 2017, more than 8,300 reports of hate postings have been received. The majority of the reported content concerns Austria, the rest other German-speaking countries. Almost 90 percent of the reported postings were published on Facebook. Around 1,000 users are registered via the BanHate app. Since May 2020, the BanHate app has also had an extension for reporting so-called hate crimes. The app was programmed by the Graz creative agency Golddiggers. The app is financed by the state of Styria (social affairs and integration department) and by the city of Graz (social affairs, education and integration department).
www.banhate.com
Article image: Shutterstock / By Popel Arseniy
Notes:
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