What is so special about online (as compared to offline) hate speech? - Alexander Brown, 2018

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• This cuts both ways, however. For, there is also evidence to suggest that the Internet disinhibits speakers to say things they would not otherwise say, face-to-face (Suler, 2004).

• even perceived anonymity—can embolden people to be more outrageous, obnoxious, or hateful in what they say than would be the case in real life (Branscomb, 1995: 1642–1643; Citron, 2014: 57, 59–60; Coffey and Woolworth, 2004: 1–14; Cohen-Almagor, 2015: 86–87, 114, 146; Poland, 2016: 22–24).

• On the other hand, the perceived anonymity of the Internet may also liberate victims of online hate speech, as well as their supporters or defenders, to engage in counter-speech.

• But, then, of course, the anonymity might also encourage counter-speakers to engage in their own hate speech attacking the original hate speakers (Coffey and Woolworth, 2004).

• What does seem clear is that there is an urgent need for existing research on the harmful effects of hate speech (Brown, 2015; Gelber and McNamara, 2016; Jay, 2009; Leets, 2002) to be extended or augmented to include research directly comparing the harmful effects of online and offline hate speech.