Politics

One-Half of Online Harassment Victims Attributed Their Experiences to Political Differences

Pew Research Center found that people were more likely than in 2017 to report more varied types and more severe forms of abuse

MadDemocraticDonkeyRepublicanElephantIllustration — Men and whites were particularly likely to attribute their online harassment experiences to their political viewskbeis/iStock

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Political differences are a driving force behind online harassment, as a new study from Pew Research Center found that 41% of U.S. adults have personally experienced some form of online harassment, and one-half of that group attributed that behavior to politics.

The think tank surveyed 10,093 U.S. adults online from Sept. 8 through 13, 2020, and it found that while the overall prevalence of online harassment is the same as it was in a similar survey it conducted in 2017, abuse of those targeted has intensified since then.

Pew