Hate Can’t Hide Online Ad
The EMMA “Hate Can’t Hide Online Ad” campaign in 2015 was in response to the growing racism and trolling online, which became a social cancer, whereby many bullies pursued a campaign of fear, replacing any healthy debate that’s crucial to any democracy.
EMMA’s campaign was a total success as eventually the Government’s “Online Safety Act” legislation was passed into law on 26th October 2023 and Ofcom published an updated roadmap setting out its implementation plan on 17th October 2024. The Internet highway is deemed as a social necessity like any major utility service, hence, need for proper safety.
This particular campaign won the Bronze LIA in 2015.
Online hate in 2015 was widely acknowledged as a growing and serious global issue. The year marked a tipping point in the visibility of online abuse, especially on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Governments, non-profits, and the tech industry began to face increasing pressure to respond to the rise of hate speech, cyberbullying, and extremist propaganda online.
Surge in Hate Speech on Social Media
Growth in Online Abuse:
- A 2015 Pew Research Center study found that 40% of adult internet users in the U.S. had experienced harassment online, and 73% had witnessed it.
- Of those harassed, 27% reported being targeted for their political views, 22% for gender, and 8% for race or ethnicity.
- Twitter was a focal point. A report by Demos (UK think tank) found that 10,000 abusive tweets were sent per day in 2015, many targeting women, Muslims, Jews, and Black users.
Example:
- The Gamergate controversy continued from 2014 into 2015, highlighting widespread sexist abuse and doxxing of women in gaming and tech. It showcased how online mobs could organise harassment campaigns across Reddit, Twitter, and 4chan.
Rise of Extremist Content and Radicalisation
Jihadist Recruitment Online:
- ISIS used social media to radicalise and recruit in Western countries.
- A Brookings Institution report in 2015 found:
- At least 46,000 ISIS-supporting Twitter accounts were active between September and December 2014, with many still active in 2015.
- 20% of those accounts tweeted in English, aiming directly at Western youth.
- YouTube and encrypted apps like Telegram were also identified as hubs for disseminating radical propaganda.
Racial and Religious Hate
UK Statistics:
- Tell MAMA, a UK anti-Muslim hate crime watchdog, reported that online abuse rose by 80% in 2015 after terror incidents like the Paris attacks and Charlie Hebdo shooting.
- Community Security Trust (CST) found that Jewish communities in the UK experienced a 61% increase in anti-Semitic online abuse.
Facebook & YouTube:
- Facebook removed over 5,000 pieces of hate speech content per month globally, according to leaked internal communications in 2015, though many critics argued moderation was too slow.
- YouTube struggled with neo-Nazi music videos and anti-refugee content, especially amid the 2015 European refugee crisis.
Gendered Online Violence
Targeting of Women:
- A 2015 study by the UN Broadband Commission revealed:
- 73% of women have been exposed to or experienced online violence.
- Young women (18–24) were especially vulnerable to severe forms of online abuse, including doxxing, stalking, and sexual threats.
- Twitter was singled out in an Amnesty International study (launched later, but reflecting 2015 trends) for failing to act on abuse reports affecting women and marginalised groups.
Key Facts and Figures (Pre-2015): Online Hate and Suicide
1. General Link Between Cyberbullying and Suicide
- According to a 2014 meta-analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics, youth who experienced cyberbullying were more than twice as likely to attempt suicide compared to those who weren’t:
- Odds Ratio: 2.3 (cyberbullying increases suicide attempt risk by over 130%)
- A 2013 review by the CDC (U.S.) concluded that cyberbullying is a “serious public health problem” and increases risk of:
- Depression, self-harm, and suicidal ideation, especially among teens.
- A 2012 study by the Cyberbullying Research Center (USA) found:
- 15% of cyberbullying victims had seriously considered suicide
- 7% had attempted it
Global Trend: Online Hate and Suicide Prior to 2015
Summary from WHO (World Health Organization):
- WHO’s “Preventing Suicide: A Global Imperative” (2014) estimated that:
- 800,000 people die by suicide annually worldwide
- Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds
- While WHO did not isolate cyberbullying suicides specifically, they identified social isolation, bullying, and humiliation — common in online hate — as significant risk factors.
Global Trend: Online Hate and Suicide Prior to 2015
Summary from WHO (World Health Organization):
- WHO’s “Preventing Suicide: A Global Imperative” (2014) estimated that:
- 800,000 people die by suicide annually worldwide
- Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds
- While WHO did not isolate cyberbullying suicides specifically, they identified social isolation, bullying, and humiliation — common in online hate — as significant risk factors.
Government & Platform Response (or Lack Thereof)
Weak Regulation:
- No unified legal framework existed in 2015 to regulate online hate. Most countries lacked specific cyberhate laws.
- The EU Commission began pressuring tech companies, leading to the Code of Conduct on Illegal Hate Speech Online, which was drafted in 2016 as a response to growing 2015 concerns.
Tech Company Reactions:
- Twitter, Facebook, and Google all faced major criticism in 2015 for not doing enough to combat hate. Twitter, for instance:
- Suspended only 125,000 accounts promoting terrorism in 2015, despite tens of thousands more being active.
Key Issues Summarised:
Issue
Details
Hate speech explosion
Twitter: 10,000 abusive tweets per day
Terrorist propaganda
46,000+ ISIS-linked Twitter accounts
Gender-based abuse
73% of women exposed to online violence
Ethnic/religious hate
Anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic abuse surged after terror attacks
Regulatory lag
Little legal recourse; tech platforms slow to act
Conclusion:
Online hate in 2015 became a mainstream social issue, evolving from isolated trolling into a systemic problem affecting democracy, free speech, personal safety, and social cohesion. A clear pattern of increased suicide risk related to cyberbullying and online harassment is well documented. These tragedies led to stronger public awareness and legislative changes from 2013–2015, including calls for social media accountability, platform reform, and mental health intervention strategies. It laid the groundwork for tougher content moderation and hate speech policies in the years that followed, though many critics argue these changes came too late.
- Twitter, Facebook, and Google all faced major criticism in 2015 for not doing enough to combat hate. Twitter, for instance:
