The Story Behind the Project

Online hostility, especially political hate, has been a growing issue on social media platforms. Much of the focus has been on understanding the hate itself—the harmful content and its creators. But what about those who witness it? Our research grew out of a desire to better understand the role of bystanders in these online spaces. While much attention has been given to those who spread hate and those who are targeted by it, we realized there was little exploration of the people who are bystanders in these interactions.

A bystander is someone who witnesses online hostility but is not directly involved in the interaction. They may not be the ones creating the harmful content or being targeted by it, but they are present, observing, and often have the power to influence the situation. Our work focuses on exploring how bystanders respond to online hostility, what motivates them to act, and why so many choose to remain silent.

An Evidence-Based Approach to Combating Online Hate

Through our research, we’ve developed a simple, evidence-based strategy to combat online hate: encouraging bystanders to take action. Our evidence-based tools encourage ordinary social media users to be part of the solution by following three actionable steps when encountering hate: “Speak up, Report, Support”.  

Our research shows that this approach can lead to lasting behavior change—with more people posting constructive comments and engaging in meaningful, cross-cutting dialogue. 

Whether you're a social media user, a content moderator, or a platform manager, we hope you find these tools useful. Explore the site to learn more about our research and how you can potentially make a difference by employing our toolbox. 

The Bigger Picture

While this project is part of a larger body of work, here on this site, we want to focus specifically on what can be done to promote pro-social bystander behavior and how everyone can contribute to a safer, more inclusive online environment. If you would like to learn more about the bigger picture, check out our project goals and research framing of our project.

We’ve also been interviewed about our work on the Interacting Minds Podcast. Have a listen below to gain further insights into our research and the broader context of our work.

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 101002251).