The Alarming Rise of Dangerous Speech
The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol released a draft report that revealed how social media platforms allowed violent rhetoric to circulate freely in the weeks leading up to the insurrection. Research has shown that fear, rather than hate speech, often leads to mass violence. Susan Benesch of the Dangerous Speech Project has identified dangerous speech as any kind of communication that makes people more likely to condone or commit violence against another group. A 2021 survey found that one-third of Americans agreed that force may be necessary to save the traditional American way of life. Benesch suggested that influential people should refrain from dangerous speech, and tech platforms should distinguish between hate speech and dangerous speech to prevent further violence.
