Expected and Unexpected Consequences of Hate Speech : Finnish Activists’ Experiences of Hate Speech and How it Affects their Agency
Tuovinen, Tiia (2022)
2022
Master's Programme in Leadership for Change
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2023-01-14
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202212229759
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202212229759
Tiivistelmä
One of the most frequently discussed threats to contemporary societies’ democracy is hate speech. An extensive amount of literature suggests that hate speech is apt to cause withdrawal from public discussion and decrease willingness to participate societally. Despite the extensive literature, research focusing on activists’ experiences of hate speech is limited. As activists have a unique position in society to compensate for political marginalization and work as governments and markets “watchdogs”, their importance as civic participators are relevant. Moreover, as activists are known for their high-risk activities, it can be assumed that they are more resilient against hate speech, which is why it can be assumed, that hate speech targeted at activists, could have unexpected consequences.
This research aimed to discover whether activists are affected by hate speech as presumed: withdrawing and being silenced. The research problem was approached by thematically analyzing data from interviews that examined Finnish activists’ experiences of hate speech. The objective of the research was to increase understanding of the phenomenon that is societally relevant. The research method was qualitative. Empirical data for the research was collected with semi-structured interviews with 8 activists living in Finland. The activists’ experiences were analyzed with inductive thematic analysis. The research frame for this study was conceptual.
Results from the empirical analysis indicated that activists are not unaffected by hate speech. However, the consequences of hate speech are often experienced at a personal level, while activism is continued despite personal costs. It was also noticed that reasons for activists’ resilience were their emotional energy and activist identity, which included features like innate characteristics of a sense of justice, headstrongness, and responsibility, which were amplified with peer support. Hate speech was often used as a tool for mobilization and demonstration of the cause – and was significantly considered a factor in the increasing determination.
Thus, unexpected consequences from hate speech were confirmed. However, it was also noticed that activist identity and emotional energy could precede activist burnout, which is why more research should be done to investigate the reasons for such a paradox. Moreover, as the sample size of the research was small and had demographic limitations, more research should be conducted to generalize the findings.
This research aimed to discover whether activists are affected by hate speech as presumed: withdrawing and being silenced. The research problem was approached by thematically analyzing data from interviews that examined Finnish activists’ experiences of hate speech. The objective of the research was to increase understanding of the phenomenon that is societally relevant. The research method was qualitative. Empirical data for the research was collected with semi-structured interviews with 8 activists living in Finland. The activists’ experiences were analyzed with inductive thematic analysis. The research frame for this study was conceptual.
Results from the empirical analysis indicated that activists are not unaffected by hate speech. However, the consequences of hate speech are often experienced at a personal level, while activism is continued despite personal costs. It was also noticed that reasons for activists’ resilience were their emotional energy and activist identity, which included features like innate characteristics of a sense of justice, headstrongness, and responsibility, which were amplified with peer support. Hate speech was often used as a tool for mobilization and demonstration of the cause – and was significantly considered a factor in the increasing determination.
Thus, unexpected consequences from hate speech were confirmed. However, it was also noticed that activist identity and emotional energy could precede activist burnout, which is why more research should be done to investigate the reasons for such a paradox. Moreover, as the sample size of the research was small and had demographic limitations, more research should be conducted to generalize the findings.