Survey Reveals Majority of Americans Experienced Online Harassment
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), more than 50% of Americans surveyed in the past year have experienced online harassment and hate at some point in their lives. This percentage rises to over 75% among transgender individuals, as reported by the advocacy group on Wednesday.
The ADL’s fifth such annual survey found that reports of online hate and harassment in the past 12 months have increased in nearly every demographic group in the United States.
About 52% of respondents to a US survey said they had been harassed online, compared to 40% the previous year.
“We are facing record levels of hate on the Internet, hate that too often turns into real violence and danger in our communities,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, calling on technology and social media platforms to do more to combat online hate.
The harassment rate was 76% for transgender people, while 26% of Jewish respondents, 38% of black Americans and 38% of Muslims said they had been harassed online at some point in their lives.
Excluding transgender people, 47% of respondents from the LGBTQ community reported being harassed online.
“Due to the recent proliferation of extreme anti-transgender legislation and rhetoric, the ADL singled out transgender individuals this year,” the advocacy group said.
Republican-led states have signed numerous transgender youth laws that supporters say are designed to protect minors and opponents say limit their rights. Some states have banned teachers of younger children from discussing gender or sexuality, while conservative lawmakers have also proposed or passed laws restricting bullying.
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden warned of “horrendous” hysterical attacks on LGBTQ Americans, especially transgender youth.
Public opinion and data analytics firm YouGov conducted an online survey of 2,139 adults and 550 teenagers on behalf of the ADL from March 7 to April 6. It exceeded the sample of respondents who identified as LGBTQ or members of various minorities.
Of those who reported being harassed, 54% reported that the harassment took place on Facebook, down from the previous survey. About 27 percent said the harassment happened on Twitter, up from 21 percent previously. Nearly 15 percent said it happened on Reddit, up from 5 percent in the previous survey.
