The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) survey found that 52% of respondents have experienced online harassment or hate, a significant increased from the 40% recorded in last year’s report.
“We are confronted with record levels of hate online, hate that too often turns into real violence and danger in our communities,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.
“The time for talking, and for planning, is long over. It’s time to execute on the priorities set out by the White House and other policymakers, and it’s time for big tech companies to deliver on their promises to reduce hate online,” he added.
The ADL also found that the reports increased across all demographic, but especially those in the LGTBQ community, particularly transgender people.
More than three-quarters of transgender people said they had been harassed online, with 60% saying they were harassed severely.
The survey also found that other groups reported high levels of harassment, including 51% of teenagers saying that they experienced some form of harassment in the last 12 months.
Additionally, 47% of LGBTQ people, 38% of Black people and 38% of Muslims also reported that they were harassed online in the last 12 months.
80% of Jewish people also reported that they were worried about being harassed for their religion, a stark difference from the 40% of non-Jewish people who reported the same answer.
The report also called for social media platforms to curtail online hate and harassment, asking them to enact “strong policies against hate and harassment and enforce them transparently, equitably, and at scale.”
ADL Vice President Yael Eisenstat said in a statement that harassment on social media is only “getting worse.”
“This is happening as the platforms continue to scale back their content moderation teams,” Eisenstat said.
“It is time for social media companies to truly protect users against hate, and for policymakers to require transparency reporting and data disclosures on how these companies are actually enforcing their own rules.”
pll/rgh/adr
