College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
94 Social Media Perpetuating Hate Speech, Racism, and Racial Bias
Pierce Christoffersen
Faculty Mentor: Phillip Singer (Social & Behavioral Science, University of Utah)
Abstract
The research investigated in this paper examines the correlation between racism and hate speech, and how the Internet and social media have perpetuated both. Subsequently, my research delves into why we see racist ideologies and hate speech persist and thrive on social media platforms. Ergo, after showing the harmful effects of social media—particularly through a racial-political lens—I investigate the current regulatory state of the internet and social media companies, and how social media companies’ various interests prevent them from acting appropriately as a self-regulating force. Accordingly, my research concludes by arguing there is a need for a regulatory agency (at the federal level) tasked with overseeing the Internet and social media. The solution I argue for is for a new commission—referred to in my paper as the Internet Communication Commission—to be implemented based on the precedence of the 1927 Radio Act which created the Federal Communications Commission. A solution based on the work of Melody Fisher, Darvelle Hutchins, and Mark Goodman in “Regulating Social Media and the Internet of Everything.”
Introduction
The topic I investigate in this research paper is the new age media’s impact on racial politics and public policy’s role in helping to mediate this new democratic forum that has emerged from social media. This topic is relevant and important to research because a pressing question in contemporary political science is how media consumption, especially social media, impacts societal discourse. In the case of racial and social politics, it appears that contemporary media has had mixed effects. The increased ease and flow of information through social media has led to heightened levels of coalition building, and a simultaneous furthering of the phenomena of filter bubbles. Historically, the media has been referred to as the “fourth estate” of our government with the task of acting as the government’s watchdog. Thus, if we are to discuss governmental operations, we would be leaving out a key aspect of our society by choosing to not discuss the media, particularly social media contemporarily.
My research paper seeks to analyze how social media is perpetuating racism and hate speech, which in some instances has led to harmful outcomes. The problem for social media companies is they are unable to effectively address this issue themselves—given differing interests and limited resources. Consequently, the goal of my paper is to show that negative discourse in social media is a social policy issue, and why the internet and social media as a means of discourse ought to be taken seriously. A task of contemporary scholars is to determine agency in the context of this new online environment, an environment that is tremendou