“Who is really British anyway?”: A thematic analysis of responses to online hate materials

Vol.10,No.4(2016)

Abstract
This article aims to add to the relatively small body of literature on online hatred. In particular, it focuses on the role social networking sites may play in the development of polarisation, by exploring how online users respond to explicit online hate materials. Specifically, this article discusses the ways in which a self-selected sample of YouTube users responded, via posting online comments, to a video clip in which a White female train passenger (called Emma) could be seen to racially to abuse other passengers. Thematic analysis of the YouTube comments identified four main themes: (1) Making Sense of Emma, which encapsulated posters' attempts to find explanations for Emma’s behaviour; (2) Meeting Hatred with Hatred, which described posters’ attempts to oppose Emma’s racism by means of resorting to aggressive, hateful language; (3) Us versus Them, which encapsulated posters' tendencies to categorise themselves and other posters into in- and outgroups, based on their particular stance on racism; (4) Contesting Britishness, which expressed posters' attempts to articulate (and contest) what it means to be British. Whilst the current analysis provides some evidence that hateful web content can fuel aggressive and hateful responses, many of the comments analysed here emphasised common group membership, alongside people’s right to claim membership in a particular social category (i.e. Britishness). The current evidence, therefore, suggests that, at least in the specific context of this study, hateful web content may not necessarily lead to an automatic endorsement or escalation of hatred.

Keywords:
Thematic analysis; YouTube; online hatred; national identity; racism
Author biographies

Sarah Rohlfing

Sarah Rohlfing is currently a PhD student in Psychology at the University of Portsmouth, where she also completed her BSc (Hons.) Forensic Psychology (2011). Sarah's broad research interest concern psychological processes underlying the development of online hatred. Her specific interest within this domain relates to the role of the Internet in shaping hatred.

Stefanie Sonnenberg

Stefanie Sonnenberg is currently a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Portsmouth. She completed an MSc in Economic Psychology at the University of Exeter (1998) and a PhD in Social Psychology at the University of St. Andrews (2004). Stefanie’s research interests span a range of topics within social psychology. Her specific interests within these broad domains concern the ways in which we conceptualise the ‘self’ (or identity) and the role identity processes play in understanding both social phenomena as well as individual well-being.
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