Once upon a time, when people were spreading hate, they had to do it face to face. Alas, the arrival of the digital age has served as an open invitation for trolls to hide behind their screens, safe in their anonymity, and spew venom.

Internet hate is a worldwide phenomenon that has exploded along with the rise of technology. Despite age, gender, social or racial background, everyone is a potential victim of online bullying. With the risk of affecting people’s mental health, especially for vulnerable groups of people, finding a way in which to deal with online hate has become a necessity.

International socially-led creative agency We Are Social has launched ‘Braving the Backlash,’ a new report on how brands can face sensitive, but profound, topics in their marketing, as well as the correct way to handle online hate. The report is the result of months of research.

Charlie Cottrell, head of editorial at We Are Social in London says, “We’re increasingly seeing more and more brands taking part in diversity campaigns - be this around inclusion or minority issues – but in taking this stance, there is the risk of hateful comments seeping into brand communities online. ‘Braving the Backlash’ aims to help businesses overcome this troubling issue, and to help more organisations be able to stand up for what they believe in – with an effective plan of how to address any negativity online.”

Those who work in social media recognise that social platforms can be a promised land for digital hate. Nevertheless, the research shows that brands and advertisers who use social often fail to speak up about the negative behaviours displayed by followers, out of fear they will offend potential clients and receive negative criticism.

Silence is the biggest syndicate of online hate, as revealed in We Are Social’s report. ‘Braving the Backlash,’ following interviews with community representatives, brands and organisations within the industry, revealed that managers deleting or ignoring hateful comments, instead of addressing them, fuel the continuation of negative behaviours. 

‘Braving the Backlash’ highlights the importance of all brands to have an anti-hate policy, giving useful advice on how to come up with one, how to display it and how to familiarise everyone with it. The report introduces a new ‘Three Rs Model’ putting hate in three distinctive categories that call for three different plans of action.

 Jim Coleman, UK CEO at We Are Social says, “As we continue to look at how we improve diversity and inclusion, both in our workforce and in our campaigns; we felt there was a knowledge gap in how negativity around diversity issues can be properly managed. This is an incredibly important issue, both for brands and marketers – and for the individuals affected by this kind of behaviour online – and we are enormously proud to be able to launch a tool to help tackle this issue.”

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