# Impact and dynamics of hate and counter speech online

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2009.08392 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.08392/

## Key facts

- Cited by 11 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 16 Sep 2020.

## Built on by (most cited first, 11 of 11)

- [NLP Systems That Can't Tell Use from Mention Censor Counterspeech, but Teaching the Distinction Helps](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.01651/) (2024)
- [Understanding Counterspeech for Online Harm Mitigation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.04761/) (2023)
- [Contextualized Counterspeech: Strategies for Adaptation, Personalization, and Evaluation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.07338/) (2024)
- [HateRephrase: Zero- and Few-Shot Reduction of Hate Intensity in Online Posts using Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.13985/) (2023)
- [Counter Hate Speech in Social Media: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.03584/) (2022)
- [Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Combat Online Hate: Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities of Large Language Models in Hate Speech Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.08035/) (2024)
- [Toxic language detection: a systematic review of Arabic datasets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.07228/) (2023)
- [When or What? Understanding Consumer Engagement on Digital Platforms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.10474/) (2025)
- [Context-Aware Detection and Victim-Centered Response Generation for Online Harassment in Private Messaging](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.14700/) (2025)
- [Contextualized Counterspeech Can Be More Persuasive Than Generic Counterspeech](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.26236/) (2026)
- [ParsHate: A Benchmark Dataset for Hate and Target Detection in Persian](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.16393/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Citizen-generated counter speech is a promising way to fight hate speech and promote peaceful, non-polarized discourse. However, there is a lack of large-scale longitudinal studies of its effectiveness for reducing hate speech. To this end, we perform an exploratory analysis of the effectiveness of counter speech using several different macro- and micro-level measures to analyze 180,000 political conversations that took place on German Twitter over four years. We report on the dynamic interactions of hate and counter speech over time and provide insights into whether, as in `classic' bullying situations, organized efforts are more effective than independent individuals in steering online discourse. Taken together, our results build a multifaceted picture of the dynamics of hate and counter speech online. While we make no causal claims due to the complexity of discourse dynamics, our findings suggest that organized hate speech is associated with changes in public discourse and that counter speech -- especially when organized -- may help curb hateful rhetoric in online discourse.