Watch what you say!!

Racism, Hate Speech, and Social Media: A Systematic Review and Critique

Matamoros-Fernández and Farkas (2021) really got into the truth about social media. This isn’t just about people being hateful it’s about how platforms are designed. Racism online isn’t a glitch; it’s part of the system. The way things are set up algorithms, content visibility, all of it rewards division, outrage, and hate. The authors break down how racism online hides in sarcasm, humor, memes, and political language, making it hard to track but easy to spread.

What stood out most was how platforms claim neutrality while shaping behavior through systems that benefit from chaos. And when it comes to moderation? It’s inconsistent and unclear. The policies aren’t built for justice they’re built for scale, for ad dollars, for looking like they’re doing something while protecting their bottom line. You can see this in many social media apps.

This is especially prevalent in the growth of Twitter/X. Most of the jokes aren’t even hidden. We can’t just deal with the surface like deleting posts or banning a few users. The platforms themselves need to be questioned. Because if the system is what’s fueling hate, then the system has to change.

How is that going to look. A complete overhaul of design regarding how online communication will work. I believe that there should be spaces for free commentary outside of spamming and ignorant commentary. Allowing the largest social apps should hold to some higher standards since the companies themselves are so influential in everything from entertainment to politics.

Sources:
Reference
Matamoros-Fernández, A., & Farkas, J. (2021). Racism, hate speech, and social media: A systematic review and critique. New Media & Society, 23(11), 3490–3512. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820955818