The internet enables us to connect with others almost without restriction, to freely exchange and present ourselves with others. But it is increasingly being misused to divide society, to exclude people, or to deliberately humiliate them. online hate

The digital space is far too often a place of hate speech and cyberbullying. Anyone can become a victim here—celebrities as well as private individuals—and the number of those affected is increasing rapidly.

A project shows that anyone can become a victim of hate

With an experiment, Telekom is showing how easy it is to become a target for hate on the Internet. Very different young people were invited to the event “Dreamjob Influencer”. The candidates had the chance to convince a community of around 1,000 online users with their individual performances on the subjects of rap, beauty, fashion, comedy, and the like. The candidates were surprised by a flood of hateful comments from the community. What they didn’t know was that the entire event was staged. There was no community at all. The hate comments, collected in advance on social networks and prepared for the experiment, were recorded by an editorial team under psychological supervision.

Telekom is fighting for a network without hate online hate

As Germany’s leading network provider, it is our social responsibility and our self-imposed duty to act here. That is why we fight for a hate-free network in which we treat each other with respect. And we are only satisfied when everyone in the digital space can #takepart without fear. Telekom stands by the side of all those who are oppressed and marginalized by the misuse of digital technologies with full conviction. That is why we support initiatives that specifically target the digital exclusion of individuals and thus do our part to improve the situation for as many as possible. So #takepart with us and our partners to fight for a network without hate.

Five tips against online hate

Anyone online can become a target for hate. As part of Telekom’s initiative “#TAKEPART – no hate speech”, Telekom gave five tips on what everyone can do.

1. Don’t look the other way, show your attitude: If everyone says, “The others will intervene,” no one will do anything.
2. Report hate comments: This is possible either directly with the platform provider or with reporting offices such as that of the BKA (“respect!”) or at hasshilft.de. Another option is to report it to the police.
3. Counter-speech: It is important to make it clear to yourself that it is not about convincing the haters. One tends to write for the silent, often doubting readers and takes a stand for them.
4. Show attitude with Love Speech: This is about generally positive, good, and appreciative language. In this way, you can contribute to the discussion in a self-determined and proactive manner anywhere on the internet.
5. Supporting the victims: A lack of helpfulness and solidarity hurts at least as much as hate itself.