Online Violence As Political Action: A Reflection on Hate Speech

The widespread diffusion of social media and, more generally, of the web has often been seen as an important advancement in terms of individual freedoms by their ability to promote digital democracy. On the one hand, digital platforms create in users the illusory belief that they can express any comment or point of view, contributing to the construction of discourses, and debates, and enhancing forms of political participation. On the other hand, however - in the name of alleged freedom of opinion - social networks increasingly become arenas where people, shielded byanonymity, attack and even persecute with impunity. The behaviour of these keyboard warriors or online haters can be traced back to the encouragement of hatred, discrimination, or hostility towards individuals or members of minorities motivated by prejudice against them, as occurs in cases of violence perpetrated against immigrants, disabled people, or LGBTQ+ people. Far from being an isolated and spontaneous practice, hate speech increasingly ends up becoming a real political action that, although virtual, ends up producing important real effects on people's lives. A practice that is functional to political debate is a resource that parties, especially those openly populist, increasingly draw on to gain consensus and build an enemy to fight. The essay intends to propose a reflection on these practices - highlighting their political significance- and analyse them in the light of specific cases in the Italian reality.