More than half of Americans have experienced online harassment, says ADL report

The last year has seen a record-breaking increase of online hate and harassment for many Americans, according to a new report by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). More than half of American adults and teens have experienced online harassment.The ADL’s annual “Online Hate and Harassment: The American Experience” report adds a national perspective to claims of a worsening digital environment, the product of a year of waning online protections, discriminatory legislation, and an overall digital environment lacking safeguards for all users. The findings are based on a national survey of more than 2,000 adult and 500 teenage respondents, all of whom were polled on their online experiences over the last 12 months, in addition to their general experience of digital abuse over their lifetimes. The ADL defines harassment as “unwanted or hostile contact on digital platforms — including social media, chat, and email — such as verbal abuse, hate speech, trolling, spamming, impersonation, and defamation,” with more severe forms in ongoing harassment campaigns, sexual harassment, stalking, doxing, and swatting. Online hate is defined as “abuse and harassment targeting someone for their identity, specifically as part of a marginalized group.” SEE ALSO: DoorDash expands grocery access through SNAP and EBT payment options Online hate and harassment isn’t improvingThe survey polled respondents on a variety of abusive online behaviors, including being called offensive names, intentional embarrassment, and forms of severe harassment such as physical threats, prolonged harassment, stalking, sexual harassment, doxing, and swatting. Overall, almost every single demographic polled reported higher levels of…More than half of Americans have experienced online harassment, says ADL report