Less prejudiced but still not intervening: A field experiment countering online hate speech among adolescents

Abstract

Adolescents’ extensive use of online platforms makes them vulnerable to hate speech. As attitudes crystallize during adolescence, repeated exposure to online hate, even as bystanders, can undermine intergroup relations and generate lasting societal consequences. Little is known about strategies that effectively sensitize youth to online hate speech. We designed an educational intervention to shift adolescents’ affective attitudes and behavioral intentions toward hate speech and reduce prejudice against overweight and Black populations as victimized groups. We evaluated the intervention through a randomized controlled trial involving 973 high-school students aged 13–20 in Italy. The intervention reduced emotional indifference, increased negative affective attitudes toward hate speech, and lowered outgroup prejudice. Yet, treated students remained reluctant to intervene. Qualitative observations of classroom discussions suggest that, while fostering empathy may reverse desensitization processes, transforming adolescent bystanders into active counter-speech agents also requires addressing the social costs of online confrontation and restoring trust in institutional responses.