Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Social Psychology Social Media

Tweets with moralized language are more likely to get replies that use hate speech.

by Laura Staloch
January 24, 2023
in Social Media
(Photo credit: Andy Melton)

(Photo credit: Andy Melton)

[Subscribe to PsyPost on YouTube to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in psychology and neuroscience]

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Researchers at Justus Liebig University Giessen recently investigated the relationship between moralized language used in a tweet and hate speech found in the replies. Their findings indicate that the more moralized words are used in a tweet, the more likely the replies to the tweet will contain hate speech. This research may provide clues to what triggers the expression of hate speech in social media contexts.

Before social media, hate speech was usually limited to people one knew or discriminatory acts or words in movies or television shows. Today the act of disparaging fellow humans through hate speech can be a part of daily life through the internet. Anyone with a social media account is a potential victim of hate speech and will undoubtedly be exposed.

Hate speech weaving its way into our online social encounters may disrupt the belief in American social unity so badly the capacity for democracy to function may be permanently impaired. Kirill Solovev and Nicolas Pröllochs recognized that a better understanding of what may prompt individuals to respond with hate speech might eventually lead to innovations in combatting it.

In this study, Solovev and Pröllochs considered language to be moralized if “it references ideas, objects, or events constructed in terms of the good of a unit larger than the individual.” In order to determine if the moralized language on social media leads to hate speech in replies, the research team gathered posts and replies from Twitter. They examined 691,234 original tweets and 35.5 million replies. The tweets came from three categories of Twitter users: politicians, news people, and activists.

In the original tweets, they identified whether they contained moral or moral-emotional language. Then, the replies were investigated for hate speech. Hate speech for this study was defined as “abusive or threatening speech (or writing) that attacks a person or group, typically on the basis of attributes such as ethnicity, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.”

The language in the tweets was assessed via trained research assistants. First, assistants read each tweet and reply and identify the moral language or hate speech; another assistant would do the same to corroborate the work.

These efforts revealed that “each additional moral word was associated with between 10.66% and 16.48% higher odds of receiving hate speech. Likewise, each additional moral-emotional word increased the odds of receiving hate speech by between 9.35% and 20.63%.”  The researcher’s team concludes that this data demonstrates that moralized language does predict hate speech in social media contexts.

Solovev and Pröllochs recognize that social media posts will never be free from moral language; despite this, the research team felt these results ” help to foster social media literacy but may also inform educational applications, counterspeech strategies, and automated methods for hate speech detection.”

The study “Moralized language predicts hate speech on social media“, was authored by Kirill Solovev and Nicolas Pröllochs.

ShareTweetSendScanShareSharePin1Send

NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP

STAY CONNECTED

TRENDING

When skin becomes smoother, the face is seen as prettier, even if it isn’t detectable

One in four people may experience estrangement from a sibling in adulthood, study finds

Exposure to social media can increase adolescent materialism but can be tempered with high self-esteem and mindfulness

Virtual reality can inoculate people against the allure of alternative romantic partners, study finds

Massive study sheds light on the psychological consequences of COVID-19 distress among workers

Study uncovers a “particularly alarming” link between men’s feelings of personal deprivation and hostile sexism

RECENT

Buying into conspiracy theories can be exciting – that’s what makes them dangerous

Is sexual loneliness a public health problem?

Massive study sheds light on the psychological consequences of COVID-19 distress among workers

New study links psychedelic drug experience to certain positive health behaviors

Electrical brain stimulation techniques can enhance hypnotizability, study finds

Exposure to social media can increase adolescent materialism but can be tempered with high self-esteem and mindfulness

An individual’s personality traits may influence their desire to make environmentally friendly food choices

Nipple erection influences perceptions of women’s intelligence, morality, and sexuality

Currently Playing

Individuals with dark personality traits are less oriented towards long-term mating strategies

Disclosing victim status reduces online dating matches regardless of race or sex

Individuals with dark personality traits are less oriented towards long-term mating strategies

Dark Triad
Longitudinal study examines the effects of adversity on wise reasoning

New study examines the psychological mechanisms underlying Solomon’s paradox

Social Psychology
Engaging in religious practice, even if you don’t believe, may increase your capacity to delay gratification

Engaging in religious practice, even if you don’t believe, may increase your capacity to delay gratification

Cognitive Science
New study sheds light on how three distinct types of first impressions predict subsequent dating outcomes

New study sheds light on how three distinct types of first impressions predict subsequent dating outcomes

Relationships and Sexual Health
A single, moderate dose of psilocybin reduces depressive symptoms for at least two weeks, controlled study finds

A single, moderate dose of psilocybin reduces depressive symptoms for at least two weeks, controlled study finds

Depression
Study identifies factors that influence the link between men’s body esteem and their ability to enjoy their sexuality

Study identifies factors that influence the link between men’s body esteem and their ability to enjoy their sexuality

Mental Health
  • Cognitive Science
  • COVID-19
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Drug Research
  • Conspiracy Theories
  • Meditation
  • Psychology of Religion
  • Aviation Psychology and Human Factors
  • Relationships and Sexual Health
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Neuroimaging
  • Psychedelic Drugs
  • Dark Triad
  • Political Psychology

About

PsyPost is a psychology and neuroscience news website dedicated to reporting the latest research on human behavior, cognition, and society. (READ MORE...)

  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • About PsyPost
    • Contact us
  • Privacy policy

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used.