In 2016, due to the growing trend of hate speech on social media, the European Commission published a code of conduct for the major companies behind the main social media platforms, in an effort to reduce or eliminate this worrying social phenomenon. However, despite the efforts of the European Commission and many other organizations in recent years, hate speech (both online and offline) remains an unresolved social problem in Europe and beyond.
In Italy, in particular, the 2019 article " Here's the Italy that Hates on the Internet" is striking . It shed light on the phenomenon of hate speech in the country. Although this social problem had been identified for a long time, the publication of this article (based on the fourth edition of the Map of Intolerance ) made us reflect more deeply on the problem. According to the article, based on an analysis of 215.377 tweets, the main victims of hate speech are the following groups:
- Migrants: 74.451 (34,6%)
- Women: 55.347 (25,7%)
- Muslims: 30.387 (14,1%)
- Disabled: 23.499 (10,9%)
- Jews: 19.952 (9,3%)
- Homosexuals: 11.741 (5,4%)
The profile of the victims and the pattern of prejudice
However, what these numbers fail to highlight is the fact that the victims of hate speech (migrants, women, and Muslims) are often predominantly Black people . The literature defines this aspect as "intersectionality," meaning that the overlap of different aspects such as ethnicity, race, gender, place of birth, sexual orientation, and religious affiliation can amplify the experiences of racism, discrimination, and social marginalization.
In this context, the provocative and necessary question I would like to raise in this article is: what is the pattern of this prejudice in Italy? In other words, how do racism and discrimination manifest themselves in Italy both online and offline? And why is it important to analyze the phenomenon in both environments? Because they are intrinsically connected, and the hatred circulating in both feeds on itself in a growing movement like a rolling snowball.
Thus, by developing a qualitative analysis of dozens of cases of hate speech in Italy in recent years, it was possible to observe that they are strongly influenced by preconceptions and misperceptions regarding black people and can be classified into three main categories:
- challenge to the professional competence of black people,
- delegitimization of the citizenship status of second-generation migrants in Italy
- naturalization of negative stereotypes about black people.
Challenge to the competence of black people
That said, unfortunately, it's not uncommon to witness racist verbal attacks challenging the professional competence of Black people in so-called "noble" professions, such as medicine. In this context, a recent illustrative case includes that of Black doctor Andi Nganso, who was insulted in August 2022 in Lignano Sabbiadoro by a patient who refused to be treated by a Black doctor . In the patient's words, "he would rather have two broken ribs than be treated by a Black doctor who was disgusting and could infect him with diseases."
Dr. Andi Nganso posted the story on Instagram, which received more than 22.000 likes and over 1.100 comments. While many of the comments supported him and criticized the patient's obvious racist behavior, many others went the opposite way. Some comments not only approved of the racist behavior, but also downplayed the case and refused to acknowledge the gravity of the situation.
The main trigger behind this type of racist discourse and its approval or acceptance on social media lies in the belief that certain professions should be practiced exclusively or predominantly by white men. Therefore, a black man or woman practicing a "noble" profession (e.g., medicine, engineering, law, university professor, etc.) is considered a "deviant" and, as such, must be challenged and restored to their "rightful" place of social inferiority and subjugation.
Hate speech also arises from advertising
In line with this case, another illustrative example includes an advertising campaign by a large German-based fashion retailer with a strong market presence in Italy, which in 2019 used black male and female models. The ads were published on the retailer's social media channels and received a staggering array of negative comments, such as the following: a) "Goodbye. You've lost a customer. Never give money to those who prefer black people again," b) "Sell them in Africa," c) "Let's do this: as soon as I turn black, I'll buy it, and in the meantime, I'll block you," d) "Wasn't there an Italian woman available for the ad?", and e) "If you want to sell in Italy, use Italian women." And so on. There are many other comments like these.
What do these comments reveal? The underlying message in all of them is the denial of the legitimacy of Black people to represent any consumer goods, much less Italy. But which Italy? White Italy, of course. Ultimately, these ideologies are fueled by colonial ways of thinking, which are still rooted in many people's mindsets and emerge freely on social media.
Delegitimization of citizenship status
Moving forward in the reflection developed up to this point, another pattern of preconceived ideas influenced by misperceptions about black people that triggers hate speech includes messages that delegitimize the Italian citizenship status of second-generation migrants.
In this context, a case in point involves a young woman from Umbria who was among the finalists for the 2021 edition of the Miss Italia pageant. Simply because she had slightly dark skin and curly black hair, many people on social media assumed she wasn't Italian (without knowing her true citizenship status). Indeed, one of the most aggressive posts against her stated, "Even if you have an Italian surname, you're not Italian, you're a mixed race."
Thus, the mere imagined perception that the girl might not be “really” Italian (after all, she is not white) was enough to trigger racist comments on social media that challenged her legitimacy to represent Italy in an international beauty pageant.
Furthermore, there is another relevant aspect embedded in this unpleasant situation to which the girl was exposed. International beauty pageants carry a strong symbolism of the image a country wishes to project to the world. Thus, in the minds of the attackers (fueled by colonial white supremacist ideals), it is inconceivable to project an image other than white —unfortunately, considerations similar to those previously seen in the fashion retailer's advertisement.
Naturalization of negative stereotypes
This brings us to the third bias, which is influenced by inaccurate perceptions based on a variety of negative stereotypes that associate Black people with poverty, criminal activity, and hunger. To illustrate this point, a prime example is Black NBA basketball player James Harden, who was the face of an advertising campaign for a well-known international brand to celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2019.
On Italian social media, dozens of racist comments have surfaced directed at James Harden, such as: a) “Oh my God, he looks like an Islamic terrorist to me,” b) “And who let you out of the cage?” c) “They treat people well in reception centers,” and d) “Who is this guy? The one who disposes of your waste.”
In hate speech, colonial language dies hard
This sample of offensive posts not only uses a series of negative stereotypes, but also naturalizes this type of discourse and reinforces inaccurate perceptions about Black people. Furthermore, it's also important to explain that these types of discourses don't emerge out of nowhere. They actually reflect a colonial way of thinking that's completely out of date, as in the 18th century, the predominant ideology was that Africans were inferior to whites in all aspects of life (e.g., beauty, intelligence, morality, civility, confidence, education, skill, and so on).
Indeed, this line of thinking also helps explain why people so readily use, for example, "lavoro in nero" (black work) to refer to illegal, informal work performed for tax evasion. That is, in this expression, black is equated with illegality, and this is quite disturbing, unpleasant to hear, and disrespectful to black people in Italy.
Examples of negative stereotyping
Another example following similar negative stereotypes includes a 2020 Twitter post showing Emma Marrone alongside American singer Kanye West, in which a user speculated that because he was Black, he was a hungry man unable to afford a plate of food. The post conveyed the following message: "Emma buys a Black guy dinner after he doesn't have enough money to afford food." That is, failing to recognize Kanye West is something that can happen if the person is unfamiliar with the artist. However, why assume (again, even without knowing) that because he is Black, he must be poor and hungry?
Incidentally, this example reminds us of the controversial social media post published in 2017 depicting Samuel L. Jackson and "Magic" Johnson as two migrants who do nothing and squander the social benefits offered by the Italian government to non-EU migrants. After the post went viral, the author came forward claiming the post was meant to be ironic. However, this doesn't explain why black people are constantly subjected to this type of discourse steeped in negative stereotypes, portraying them only as needy and unemployed. Why would it be so funny and ironic?
In this sense, studies reveal that when instances of hate speech on social media become the subject of news articles , attackers take the following actions: a) they delete the post, b) they change their account status from public to private, c) they delete their account on the social media platform, or d) they claim the post was just a “harmless” prank. Therefore, considering the case of the viral post involving Samuel L. Jackson and “Magic” Johnson, it falls squarely into this category, given that the author claimed it was meant to be a “funny” joke.
Changing your mindset to curb hate speech
In short, it has become clear that racist hate speech in Italy is deeply imbued with preconceptions and outdated colonial ideologies that paint Black people with a variety of "colors," mostly representing negative, unpleasant, disrespectful, and inferior aspects. Furthermore, they are also permeated with a series of inaccurate generalizations that consistently describe Black men and women as experiencing social inferiority, marginalization, illegality, incompetence, hunger, crime, violence, illegitimate Italian citizenship, and so on.
Furthermore, recent data reveals that 43,2 million Italians (equivalent to 71,6% of the country's population) are active social media users. This means that this digital technology allows people to construct and spread racist and discriminatory ideologies that can reach a wide audience. In short, unfortunately, this scenario reinforces, naturalizes, and perpetuates a variety of misguided and outdated perceptions about Black people in Italy. Therefore, it is important not only to denounce this worrying situation , but also to carry out various educational initiatives to ensure that the new generations of boys and girls do not repeat this pattern of behavior and racist ideologies.
Luiz Valério P. Trindade He lives in Rome and holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Southampton (UK). His latest books include Discurso de Ódio Nas Redes Sociais (Jandaíra, 2022) and No Laughing Matter: Race Joking and Resistance in Brazilian Social Media (Vernon Press, 2020).
