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Researchers propose a new approach for dismantling online hate networks
How do you get rid of hate speech on social platforms? Until now, companies have generally tried two approaches. One is to ban individual users who are caught posting abuse; the other is to ban the large pages and groups where people who practice hate speech organize and promote their noxious views.
But what if this approach is counterproductive? That's the argument in an intriguing new paper out today in Nature from Neil Johnson, a professor of physics at George Washington University, and researchers at GW and the University of Miami. The paper, "Hidden resilience and adaptive dynamics of the global online hate ecology," explores how hate groups organize on Facebook and Russian social network VKontakte — and how they resurrect themselves after platforms ban them.
As Noemi Derzsy writes in her summary in Nature:
Johnson et al. show that online hate groups are organized in highly resilient clusters. The users in these clusters are not geographically localized, but are globally interconnected by 'highways' that facilitate the spread of online hate across different countries, continents and languages. When these clusters are attacked — for example, when hate groups are removed by social-media platform administrators (Fig. 1) — the clusters rapidly rewire and repair themselves, and strong bonds are made between clusters, formed by users shared between them, analogous to covalent chemical bonds. In some cases, two or more small clusters can even merge to form a large cluster, in a process the authors liken to the fusion of two atomic nuclei. Using their mathematical model, the authors demonstrated that banning hate content on a single platform aggravates online hate ecosystems and promotes the creation of clusters that are not detectable by platform policing (which the authors call 'dark pools'), where hate content can thrive unchecked.
[...] The researchers advocate a four-step approach to reduce the influence of hate networks.
- Identify smaller, more isolated clusters of hate speech and ban those users instead.
- Instead of wiping out entire small clusters, ban small samples from each cluster at random. This would theoretically weaken the cluster over time without inflaming the entire hive.
- Recruit users opposed to hate speech to engage with members of the larger hate clusters directly. (The authors explain: "In our data, some white supremacists call for a unified Europe under a Hitler-like regime, and others oppose a united Europe. Similar in-fighting exists between hate-clusters of the KKK movement. Adding a third population in a pre-engineered format then allows the hate-cluster extinction time to be manipulated globally.)
- Identify hate groups with competing views and pit them against one another, in an effort to sow doubt in the minds of participants.
Hidden resilience and adaptive dynamics of the global online hate ecology[$], Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1494-7)
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Fishscene on Tuesday August 27 2019, @04:16PM (8 children)
What is "hate speech"? The question is never answered the same by anyone and all too often, we find that the powers-that-be define it loosely as "speech and ideas we don't agree with".
The problem with this definition is that by its very nature, it goes both ways. From the posters perspective, they were just shut up/banned/trampled on by someone with speech or an idea that they disagreed with. Therefore, since they were acted upon, it is now defined as "Hate action". And if we follow the above logic, we get "Hate action" defined as "actions we don't agree with".
Which is more likely to cause a pressure-cooker scenario. Hate speech or Hate action?
I can argue with you all day in the public streets. But if you put a muzzle over my mouth or duck tape my mouth shut - I guarantee you the police will be there soon.
This is what you're doing when you ban folks under the guise of hate speech. Because it's really just an idea you don't agree with and you're shutting that person up.
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Now, I'm all for moderation and banning on other grounds. But hate speech? It's really speech the moderator/admins/governments hate. They're the haters. It's a misnomer. Just like if a controversial bill is given a name - the opposite of that name is more likely to be right.
I know I am not God, because every time I pray to Him, it's because I'm not perfect and thankful for what He's done.
(Score: 2) by Fishscene on Tuesday August 27 2019, @04:23PM
Clarification on an item that I can't seem to edit:
The problem with this definition is that by its very nature, it goes both ways:
From the posters perspective, they were just shut up/banned/trampled on by someone with speech or an idea that they disagreed with. Therefore, since the poster was acted upon, they were on the receiving end of what I'll call "Hate action". And if we follow the above logic, we get "Hate action" defined as "actions we don't agree with".
Which is more likely to cause a pressure-cooker scenario. Hate speech that mods and governments disagree with but could be left alone or Hate action where mods/government start shutting down that speech because they don't like it?
I know I am not God, because every time I pray to Him, it's because I'm not perfect and thankful for what He's done.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday August 27 2019, @04:33PM (3 children)
Verbal statement of disbelief in the globalist corporate outlook.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ikanreed on Tuesday August 27 2019, @05:25PM (2 children)
orrrrrrrrrrrrrr it's quotes like this
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday August 28 2019, @01:43PM (1 child)
Because the opposition needs to focus on something like namecalling to distract from inconvenient factual observations.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 29 2019, @01:39AM
Raging Nazi fuck!
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday August 27 2019, @06:10PM (1 child)
Some Hate Speech leads to Hate Action. Some of that "speech" may involve the planning of crimes against the group that is hated.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 27 2019, @09:23PM
No, it doesn't. Hate speech doesn't control people's bodies like puppets and force them to do bad things; some people decide to do bad things in response to hate speech of their own volition. There is a big difference there.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Tuesday August 27 2019, @06:17PM