Online Hate Speech and the Safety of Internet Users

Background: Hate speech is a very important problem nowadays. One can meet it in one’s immediate surroundings (conversations with friends), the media, the Internet, or in the so-called public space (for example, inscriptions on the walls). One form of hate speech is online hate speech, which, together with certain other phenomena, is referred to as hejt in the Polish language. The authors of the article focus on presenting online hate speech in relation to various age and social groups. Objectives: The aim of the article is to present the phenomenon of hate speech on the web and its impact on the safety of Internet users. Methods: The article uses basic theoretical and empirical methods. Content published on the Internet is analyzed and case studies are described. Interviews with experts (psychologists, police officers, sociologists, media and hate speech specialists) were also conducted and their views are presented. Conclusions: In the discussion about hate speech, prevention is extremely important. According to the authors, broad prevention consisting of professionally prepared content, enriched with film materials, presented by an expert or a trained teacher, should be included in the core curriculum of schools as one of the mandatory issues raised during the lessons.