Considerations for Successful Counterspeech

Abstract

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It may sometimes seem that the Internet is sullied by a relentless tide of hatred, vitriol, and extremist content, and that not much can be done to respond effectively. Such content cannot all be deleted, after all, since even if a statement, image, or user is deleted from one platform, there is always somewhere else to go.We have been pleasantly surprised, however, that our study of Twitter turned up numerous cases of effective counterspeech, which we define as a direct response to hateful or dangerous speech. Based on this first, qualitative study of counterspeech as it is practiced spontaneously on Twitter, we offer some preliminary suggestions on which strategies may help to make counterspeech successful.