LGBTQ organizations have recently reported an increase in the amount of hate on the social media platform, Twitter. These reports have seen a steady uptick since the start of 2019, with reports of hate speech, cyberbullying, and targeted harassment against queer individuals, in particular, rising.
The issue of online hate has been a contentious one for some time. According to a report from Human Rights Watch, online hate and harassment are “…one of the greatest threats to LGBTQ rights and freedom of expression worldwide.” The report also found that the harassment often targets lesbian, gay, and bisexual people as well as transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming, and intersex individuals at disproportionately higher rates.
LGBTQ organizations like GLAAD and Human Rights Campaign have noted that the recent reports of Internet hate and harassment on Twitter have been particularly high. In particular, the hashtag #LesbianTwitter has seen a spike in reports of targeted harassment and cyberbullying, with many LGBTQ users reporting being targeted and harassed on the platform by specifically homophobic accounts.
In response to this uptick in online hate, Twitter has implemented new, stricter policies which are designed to make it easier to report or flag hate speech or intentionally harassing language. Additionally, the platform has also implemented better filters to help protect users from being exposed to hateful or harmful language and images.
Though these steps are a welcome and necessary response to the rise in online hate, further progress must be made. LGBTQ organizations have called on social media platforms, such as Twitter, to do more to protect its queer users from online harassment, through additional tools and resources for reporting and addressing this kind of behavior. The organizations have proposed that social media platforms should also be doing more to properly train moderators and to better address and investigate reports of online hate.
The issue of online hate is one that cannot be ignored, and the recent reports and data from LGBTQ organizations are clear: there is an alarming and growing trend of online hate and harassment against queer individuals on Twitter. It is time for social media companies, like Twitter, to step up and do more to address this problem. We must all work together to ensure that the platforms we use are safe for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other factor.
