Prevalence and Impact of Hate Speech among Politicians in Switzerland

Bibliographic Data

ID13023995
AuthorsJoëlle Ninon Albrecht (0000-0002-6067-8097, University of Konstanz, corresponding author), Jérôme Endra (0000-0001-9961-6734, University of Basel), Michal Sonja Dreifuss (University of Konstanz), Nina Schnyder (0000-0001-6146-2434, University of Konstanz), Astrid Rossegger (0000-0003-0207-732X, University of Basel)
Year2024
Volume14
Issue7
Pages98-98
Publication date2024-06-27
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocieties (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2075-4698 • E-ISSN: 2075-4698
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/soc14070098
OpenAlexW4400125081
LanguageEN
References cited21

Politicians may be particularly vulnerable to hate speech because of their public visibility and exposure to deviating opinions. They play a critical role in the functioning of a democratic system, and therefore, hate speech poses a potential threat because it can impede politicians’ freedom of expression or even lead politicians to resign from office. However, little is known about the prevalence and impact of hate speech targeting politicians. We therefore surveyed the politicians in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, 667 of whom participated (39.8% response rate). The prevalence of hate speech experiences was 29.7% in their total time as politicians and 20.6% in the past 12 months. Participants who had held a political office for longer and were affiliated with a political party on the poles of the political spectrum were more susceptible. Crucially, 29.4% of the affected politicians had contemplated resigning from politics due to hate speech. Thus, our study underlines a need for action. As the participants indicated they wanted to deal with hate speech as little as possible but still desired some form of intervention, political measures should strive for intervention options that require minimal contributions from the victims

Action (physics · Democracy · Intervention (counseling · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Law · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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Open DOIOpen Access