Readers of online news comments : why do they read hate speech comments?

In this study, 378 readers of online hate speech comments were surveyed to examine the motivations of audiences for reading the hate speech comments that are published below online news texts. The research's results revealed that respondents were motivated to read them for guidance, entertainment or social utility, convenience, and to seek information. Seeking guidance was the primary motivation for reading online hate speech comments. The respondents' age, level of education, and gender were negatively correlated with all the motivations for reading them. Income was not correlated significantly to motivations. Those who conducted a greater amount of online activities read comments for entertainment. Hate speech online comments attracted greater numbers of politically affiliated people.

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