Walther, J. B. (2024). Making a case for a social processes approach to online hate. In J. B. Walther & R. E. Rice (Eds.), Social Processes of Online Hate (1st ed.). Routledge.

Link: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003472148

Open access: Yes

Notes: Although it is easy to focus on individual instances of online hate, there are increasing calls to pay attention to the social processes that underlie and enable such antisocial behaviours. Joseph Walther does just that in this chapter—aptly titled Making a Case for a Social Processes Approach to Online Hate. To achieve this, Walther first explores how previous literature on online hate has often explained why people engage in such behaviours by drawing on individual differences or on the intentions to harm. He, however, argues that such lenses fail to contemplate how online hate often is enacted in symbols that are only understood by in-group members, as well as in places where targets of such violence cannot access (e.g., private Facebook groups). Consequently, he argues that “messaging is socially motivated for the benefit and enjoyment of persons like themselves rather than being intended for delivery to victims” (p. 21). Examples of this lens can be seen in studies of networked harassment (here) and cross-platform coordination of online hate campaigns. To conclude, Walther outlines three social gratifications that might explain why those enacting online violence choose to do so: having fun, acquiring social approval, and sustaining social support.