Social network conversations with young authors of online hate speech against migrants

This paper investigates anti-migrant hate speech on social media platforms, taking the view that each user becomes not just a spectator, but also a producer of media content. The use of a case study helps identify some distinctive features of the online environment that facilitate the propagation of xenophobic hatred. It consists in an in-depth analysis of 50 conversations on social media (Ask.fm and Facebook), with differing durations and numbers of exchanges. The common feature is that the youths (14–21 years old) were contacted by the researcher because they had in various ways taken part in social media exchanges that had helped spread hatred towards migrants. Concomitantly, the paper examines how the content of anti-migrant discourse evolves from different centres as a result of the new social, economic, political and cultural context, which also encompasses the characteristics of the participatory culture 2.0.