Online hate refers to hateful posts or comments about a person or group based on discrimination or bias related to their identity or beliefs. In late 2024, a survey of 9,951 Australian adults found 1.7 percent of respondents had subjected others to online hate. This study aimed to determine the characteristics of this cohort.
Compared to those who had not subjected others to online hate, these respondents were more likely to be men, to be aged under 35 years and to be more impulsive. They were also more likely to have had previous negative life experiences (including victimisation to online hate), to hold prejudicial attitudes and to engage in a range of antisocial behaviours.
References
URLs correct as at August 2026
Álvarez-Benjumea A & Winter F 2018. Normative change and culture of hate: An experiment in online environments. European Sociological Review 34(3): 223–237. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcy005
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2024. National, state and territory population, December 2023. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/dec-2023
Bernatzky C, Costello C & Hawdon J 2021. Who produces online hate?: An examination of the effects of self-control, social structure, & social learning. American Journal of Criminal Justice 47(3): 421–440. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09597-3
Bilewicz M & Soral W 2020. Hate speech epidemic. The dynamic effects of derogatory language on intergroup relations and political radicalization. Political Psychology 41: 3–33. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12670
Bilewicz M, Soral W, Marchlewska M & Winiewski M 2017. When authoritarians confront prejudice: Differential effects of SDO and RWA on support for hate‐speech prohibition. Political Psychology 38(1): 87–99. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12313
Blaya C 2019. Cyberhate: A review and content analysis of intervention strategies. Aggression and Violent Behaviour 45: 163–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2018.05.006
Blaya C & Audrin C 2019. Toward an understanding of the characteristics of secondary school cyberhate perpetrators. Frontiers in Education 4: 46. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2019.00046
Cáceres JMB, Martínez PR, Espinosa JJS & Joya LM 2025. The perpetration of on- and offline hate speech among secondary school students. Frontiers in Human Dynamics 7: 1632091. https://doi.org/10.3389/fhumd.2025.1632091
Coutlee CG, Politzer CS, Hoyle RH & Huettel SA 2014. An abbreviated impulsiveness scale (ABIS) constructed through confirmatory factor analysis of the BIS-11. Archives of Scientific Psychology 2(1): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/arc0000005
Davidson J et al. 2019. Adult online hate, harassment and abuse: A rapid evidence assessment. UK Council for Internet Safety. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-online-hate-harassment-and-abuse-a-rapid-evidence-assessment
Dellagiacoma L, Geschke D & Rothmund T 2024. Ideological attitudes predicting online hate speech: The differential effects of right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation. Frontiers in Social Psychology 2: 1389437. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsps.2024.1389437
Dreißigacker A, Müller P, Isenhardt A & Schemmel J 2024. Online hate speech victimization: Consequences for victims’ feelings of insecurity. Crime Science 13(1): 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40163-024-00204-y
eSafety Commissioner nd. Online hate, bullying and violence. https://www.esafety.gov.au/research/young-people-social-cohesion/online-hate-bullying-violence
eSafety Commissioner 2026. Online hate. https://www.esafety.gov.au/young-people/online-hate
eSafety Commissioner 2020. Online hate speech: Findings from Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Melbourne: eSafety Commissioner. https://www.esafety.gov.au/research/online-hate-speech
Follingstad DR & Rogers MJ 2013. Validity concerns in the measurement of women’s and men’s report of intimate partner violence. Sex Roles 69(3): 149–167. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-013-0264-5
Garland J, Ghazi-Zahedi K, Young J, Hébert-Dufresne L & Galesic M 2022. Impact and dynamics of hate and counter speech online. EPJ Data Science 11(3): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjds/s13688-021-00314-6
Hawdon J, Oksanen A & Räsänen P 2017. Exposure to online hate in four nations: A cross-national consideration. Deviant Behavior 38(3): 254–266. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2016.1196985
Kaakinen M, Keipi T, Oksanen A & Räsänen P 2018. How does social capital associate with being a victim of online hate? Survey evidence from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Finland. Policy & Internet 10(3): 302–323. https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.173
Kaakinen M, Sirola A, Savolainen I & Oksanen A 2020. Impulsivity, internalizing symptoms, and online group behavior as determinants of online hate. PLoS One 15(4): e0231052. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0231052
Kansok-Dusche J et al. 2024. Associations between social competence, perceived parents’ prosocial educational goals and adolescents’ hate speech perpetration in school. Victims & Offenders 19(3): 419–446. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2023.2189191
Kehn A, Sorby ML, Nobles MR, Gamblin BW & Cramer RJ 2024. Typologies of hate-motivated behavior: A latent class analysis. International Review of Victimology 30(3): 503–520. https://doi.org/10.1177/02697580241241806
Lewis R, Rowe M & Wiper C 2018. Misogyny online: extending the boundaries of hate crime. Journal of Gender-Based Violence 2(3): 519–536. https://doi.org/10.1332/239868018X15375304472635
Lupu Y et al. 2023. Offline events and online hate. PLoS One 18(1): e0278511. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278511
Madriaza P et al. 2025. Exposure to hate in online and traditional media: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of the impact of this exposure on individuals and communities. Campbell Systematic Reviews 21: cl2-70018. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.70018
Mason G et al. 2017. Policing hate crime: Understanding communities and prejudice. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315696508
Matamoros-Fernández A & Farkas J 2021. Racism, hate speech, and social media: A systematic review and critique. Television & New Media 22(2): 205–224. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476420982230
McDevitt J, Levin J & Bennett S 2002. Hate crime offenders: An expanded typology. Journal of Social Issues 58(2): 303–317. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-4560.00262
Morgan A forthcoming. A profile of Australians aligned with the sovereign citizen movement. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology
Morgan A & Cubitt T 2026. Trends in exposure to fringe and radical content and groups online. Statistical Report no. 62. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.52922/sr78281
Muller K & Schwarz C 2020. Fanning the flames of hate: Social media and hate crime. Journal of the European Economic Association 19(4): 2131–2167. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvaa045
Naranjo‐Pou S & Zych I 2025. Association between victimization and perpetration of cyberhate: The moderating role of social dominance orientation. Journal of Adolescence 97(2): 479–488. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12433
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security 2026. Official committee Hansard, 13 January. Review of the exposure draft legislation: Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Intelligence_and_Security/CASHEBILL26/Public_Hearings
Phillips W 2016. This is why we can’t have nice things: Mapping the relationship between online trolling and mainstream media. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Powell A, Scott AJ & Henry N 2020. Digital harassment and abuse: Experiences of sexuality and gender minority adults. European Journal of Criminology 17(2): 199–223. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370818788006
Pratto F et al. 2013. Social dominance in context and in individuals: Contextual moderation of robust effects of social dominance orientation in 15 languages and 20 countries. Social Psychological and Personality Science 4(5): 587–599. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550612473663
Reichelmann A et al. 2021. Hate knows no boundaries: Online hate in six nations. Deviant Behavior 42(9): 1100–1111. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2020.1722337
Rottweiler B & Gill P 2021. Measuring individuals’ misogynistic attitudes: Development and validation of the misogyny scale. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/6f829
Saha K, Chandrasekharan E & De Choudhury M 2019. Prevalence and psychological effects of hateful speech in online college communities. Proceedings of the 10th ACM Conference on Web Science. Boston: Association for Computing Machinery: 255–264. https://doi.org/10.1145/3292522.3326032
Santos ILS, Pimentel CE & Mariano T 2022. Online trolling: The impact of antisocial online content, social media use, and gender. Psychological Reports 126(3): 1416–1429. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941211055705
Schieb C & Preuss M 2016. Governing hate speech by means of counter speech on Facebook. Paper to the 66th ICA Annual Conference, Fukuoka, Japan, 9–13 June
Shachaf P & Hara N 2010. Beyond vandalism: Wikipedia trolls. Journal of Information Science 36(3): 357–370. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551510365390
Soral W, Bilewicz M & Winiewski M 2018. Exposure to hate speech increases prejudice through desensitization. Aggressive Behavior 44(2): 136–146. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21737
Thomas DR & Wahedi LA 2023. Disrupting hate: The effect of deplatforming hate organizations on their online audience. Political Sciences 120(24): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2214080120
Tourangeau R & Yan T 2007. Sensitive questions in surveys. Psychological Bulletin 133(5): 859–883. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.5.859
Traverse Research 2023. Qualitative research into the impact of online hate: Final report. London: Ofcom. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/online-abuse/impact-of-online-hate
Turner N, Holt TJ, Brewer R, Cale J & Goldsmith A 2023. Exploring the relationship between opportunity and self-control in youth exposure to and sharing of online hate content. Terrorism and Political Violence 35(7): 1604–1619. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2022.2066526
Vepsäläinen J et al. 2025. Cybercrime correlates among adolescents in Europe and South America: A cross-national analysis based on situational action theory. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 41(4): 661–678. https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862251389822
Vergani M, Carland S et al. 2026a. From shock to system: The rise of anti-Muslim hate in Australia. Melbourne: Tackling Hate Lab. https://tacklinghate.org/lab-insights/new-evidence-on-online-anti-jewish-and-anti-muslim-hate-in-australia/
Vergani M, Giovannetti A et al. 2026. Mapping online anti-Jewish hate in Australia: A big data analysis. Melbourne: Tackling Hate Lab. https://tacklinghate.org/lab-insights/new-evidence-on-online-anti-jewish-and-anti-muslim-hate-in-australia/
Vergani M, Ng SZX et al. 2026. Anti-First Nations hate in Australia: Online dynamics across the Voice referendum and 2025 national events. Melbourne: Tackling Hate Lab. https://tacklinghate.org/lab-insights/understanding-anti-first-nations-hate-online-in-australia/
Wachs S et al. 2019. Associations between witnessing and perpetrating online hate in eight countries: The buffering effects of problem-focused coping. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16(20): 3992. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16203992
Wiedlitzka S, Prati G, Brown R, Smith J & Walters MA 2023. Hate in word and deed: The temporal association between online and offline islamophobia. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 39(1): 75–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-021-09530-9
Windisch S, Wiedlitzka S, Olaghere A & Jenaway E 2022. Online interventions for reducing hate speech and cyberhate: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews 18(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1243