Online political hostility, such as online hate speech, constitutes a challenge to democracy. The challenge is amplified by widespread apathy among witnesses. While research within political science has focused on the aggressors and explored how politically hostility develops, much less attention is given to bystanders and the potential of pro-social bystander reactions to mitigate the negative impact of hostility. This is problematic for at least two reasons.
First, in choosing between pro-social (e.g. counter-speech or reporting) and anti-social (do nothing; join hostility) reactions, the bystander provides immediate feedback on the acceptability of behavior and may contribute to changing norms. By being present in politically hostile situations, when authorities are often not, the bystander holds considerable power to defuse hostile situations and mitigate the negative impact on victims and deliberation. Second, while research on helping behavior finds ample support for the ‘bystander effect’, it also shows that apathy can be reduced by encouraging pro-social bystander reactions through interventions. It is unknown whether these insights extend to online political hostility, yet it provides grounds for optimism.
To realize the potential of pro-social bystander reactions, STANDBY advances a new research agenda that shifts focus from explaining the anti-social behavior of online political hostility to explaining when and why bystanders react pro-socially and analyzing the short- and long-term consequences of this. Thus, the overall research question of STANDBY is: When and why do bystanders to online political hostility react pro-socially, and what are the consequences?
To answer this question, STANDBY pursues several objectives. First, STANDBY aims to develop a novel conceptualization of what pro-social bystander reactions to online political hostility entail. Second, STANDBY will develop/test an interdisciplinary framework for explaining pro-social bystander reactions to online political hostility. Third, we theorize and investigate the consequences of exposure to pro-social bystander reactions, specifying how they may animate further reactions and help change norms of interaction. Fourth, we test whether pro-social bystander reactions can be effectively encouraged through interventions. Finally, STANDBY aims to contribute to methodological innovation that enables empirical studies across national contexts and time, in a realistic, yet ethical manner.
