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Whites more likely to confront authors of racist online posts to set discussion rules - C C - Feb 13, 2024
White people more likely to confront authors of racist online posts to set discussion rules
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1034162
INTRO: White people surveyed in a recent study indicated they would be more likely to confront those who post racist content on social media if their objective were to defend the norms for political discussions rather than to change the person’s prejudiced beliefs.
Communication professors Stewart M. Coles of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Daniel S. Lane of the University of California, Santa Barbara surveyed people during the 2020 U.S. presidential election cycle to explore the conditions under which white people would challenge hate speech on social media.
Those in the study were presented with a vignette in which they encountered a racist post on a social media platform and were asked to indicate how likely they would be to confront the author if their goal were to change the person’s beliefs and if it were setting social norms by letting its author know their remarks were unacceptable. The author of the racist remarks in the scenario was randomly assigned to be a close friend, family member, acquaintance or stranger.
“Overall, we found that reframing the confrontation goal from changing someone’s mind to setting social norms increased participants’ willingness to challenge these types of posts,” Coles said. “Participants also indicated greater willingness to confront someone they were closer to rather than someone who was relationally distant, such as a stranger or acquaintance.”
Published in the journal New Media and Society, the findings suggest that reframing the goal of the interaction from changing the offender’s beliefs to setting the norms and expectations for content could induce more people to challenge such posts... (MORE - details, no ads)