Work Package no. 6 – Factors influencing intolerant speech

WP 6 gives a contextual dimension to the research regarding the anti-democratic and intolerant discourse (ADID). The WP will choose the appropriate concepts and develop novel indicators to measure the journalists’ and media outlets’ willingness and effectiveness in addressing ADID.

Objectives:

• Identifying editorial policies focusing on ADID;
• Analysing experts’ and journalists’ perceptions in terms of the existence and moderation of online comments, as well as the presence and content of anti-prejudice norms among Romanian and Norwegian journalists;
• Collecting data regarding mass media quality in Romania and Norway.

Findings:

Editorial policies and practices related to online comments, in Romania and abroad:

• An analysis of editorial policies and practices regarding online comments at 69 outlets in five countries (France, Hungary, Romania, the United Kingdom, the United States of America) reveals how publishers tackle problems like online hate speech and incivility and how much they invest in positive engagement with the audience. Key findings include the fact that most publications that host comments also post rules about what is allowed and what is not, except in Romania, where 38% of the websites we looked at had comment sections but no rules governing them. Approximately 40% of the websites we looked at moderate comments, but in the case of Romania, the share is 19%. These results confirmed that the Romanian online environment is relatively little “regulated,” and the enforcement of existing rules is rather sporadic, in spite of extensive Romanian legislation in the field of anti-discrimination.
• Among the sites that have editorial policies on comments, most ban discourse that incites to hatred or discrimination (85%) and vulgar language or images (79%). The rules of Romanian websites tend to be somewhat briefer and more preoccupied with problems like spam, trolling or vulgarity than issues like discrimination, insults or personal attacks.
• Some websites go beyond moderation and encourage high quality discourse: 17% of publications highlight certain comments or designate certain super-users, whose contributions are either highlighted or are subject to a different moderation regime than those of the other users.