More than one-quarter of Britons have witnessed hate speech in the past year, according to research released on Holocaust Memorial Day.
An online survey found public concern is growing, with two-thirds of UK adults worried about the impact of hate speech on society, as Holocaust survivors warn against normalising it.
The majority of cases were on social media and involved anti-immigrant or anti-refugee language, racist abuse or anti-Muslim comments.
An overwhelming number (82%) of those who came across hate speech believe companies such as Facebook and Twitter should do more to tackle it online.
In the past 12 months, 27% of UK adults witnessed one or more incidents of hate speech, while 12% came across more than five.
Of those who came across hate speech, 41% said it was based on a person’s race or ethnicity. Nearly two-thirds (59%) of cases were on social media, with the remainder witnessed in public places such as on the street or public transport, or in a pub or shop.
Olivia Marks-Woldman, the chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said: “These findings are shocking. The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2018 is the power of words, and our research shows just how prevalent hate speech is today, and how powerful our words are.
“We know the repeated use of words normalises dangerous language and allows hatred to take root, which can ultimately lead to persecution.”
Holocaust Memorial Day remembers the millions of people who were murdered or whose lives were changed beyond recognition during the Holocaust and Nazi persecution, and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
“Words were used deliberately to create stereotypes and to target people and create division. And that normalised that kind of language and normalised the behaviour that goes along with it, and facilitated the next stages that led to the Holocaust and genocides that took place afterwards,” said Marks-Woldman.
“Perpetrators use any means at their disposal. The Nazis utilised posters put up in shop windows and on walls and park benches. They used newspaper articles and youth group media. In Rwanda, they used radio.
“Contemporaneously, we have got many means at our disposal. Technology has enabled far more methods of communicating with people quickly and in large numbers.
“What we are absolutely aware of is social media facilitating messages reaching people in greater numbers and reaching people much faster than other forms of communication.
“You also, quite often, find yourself in an echo chamber where you are following people or reading people of a similar mindset, so that normalises too. That normalisation of language is really critical to all of this. And that is what we want people to be aware of on Holocaust Memorial Day.”
