Moody, M. (2011). A Critical Analysis of Facebook Hate Groups. Presented to the Cultural and Critical Studies Division at the 2009 AEJMC conference, St. Louis.
By Mia Moody
Facebook’s groups application is a social networking site for like-minded individuals to express their thoughts on topics and to share photos and ideas. This increased capacity for social interaction created yet another avenue for spreading hatred. As a result, Facebook serves as host to a large variety of ‘hate’ groups and pages on the Web. Because the Facebook groups application is relatively new, the term ‘hate group’ is loosely defined its context. Building on traditional mass media theories, this exploratory study uses a critical hermeneutics approach to investigate the nuances of hate communities on Facebook and offers tips for creators, administrators and citizens to identify and manage hate within the context of a social media network. Findings indicate group titles often do not exhibit their true cause. For example,hundreds of hate groups indirectly target gays by characterizing a celebrity as gay. Similarly, political hate groups often spew hateful language rather than political discourse. While research is needed to assess the long-term effects of hate speech, limited restrictions on some hate expression may be worth considering.
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By Mia Moody
Facebook’s groups application is a social networking site for like-minded individuals to express their thoughts on topics and to share photos and ideas. This increased capacity for social interaction created yet another avenue for spreading hatred. As a result, Facebook serves as host to a large variety of ‘hate’ groups and pages on the Web. Because the Facebook groups application is relatively new, the term ‘hate group’ is loosely defined its context. Building on traditional mass media theories, this exploratory study uses a critical hermeneutics approach to investigate the nuances of hate communities on Facebook and offers tips for creators, administrators and citizens to identify and manage hate within the context of a social media network. Findings indicate group titles often do not exhibit their true cause. For example,hundreds of hate groups indirectly target gays by characterizing a celebrity as gay. Similarly, political hate groups often spew hateful language rather than political discourse. While research is needed to assess the long-term effects of hate speech, limited restrictions on some hate expression may be worth considering.
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