HATEFUL COMMENTS IN THE SOCIAL NETWORKS (CYBERHATE) AGAINST ROMA. HOW TO FIGHT IT?

Abstract

In the 21st century, along with technological development, social problems in the social networks have also significantly expanded, especially the phenomenon of cybernetics on social networks. Despite the absence of accurate statistics on the use of social networks by the Roma community in Slovakia, their presence in the online environment can be assumed. The study focuses on manifestations of cyberhate against Roma on the social network Facebook. Research using qualitative analysis of comments from the social network Facebook. Four selected Slovak media contributions related to the Roma community were analyzed. The comments were anonymized, linguistically edited and examined in terms of the occurrence of dehumanizing, stereotypical and segregating expressions. The analysis showed a high incidence of hate speech against Roma, including dehumanization, stereotyping and calls for violence. Cyberhate often intertwined with criticism of social policy and contained expressive and even satirical language. In addition, there were also isolated comments that appeared to be a more balanced view or pointed to systemic causes of discrimination. The findings point to the need for systematic prevention of cyberhate, which includes an educational campaign, the development of critical thinking and intervention programs for different age groups, not only youth. It is important to expand the population to include the adult population and improve research on the demographic characteristics of social media users. Effectively combating cyberhate requires educational preparation, online intervention and a better understanding of users' behavior in the digital space