Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

Investigation into online platforms finds 'foul trove of racial hatred'

Investigation into online platforms finds 'foul trove of racial hatred'

The Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right, which carried out the research, said: "It makes you wonder what the point of moderation is when some of these obvious, overt and in some cases violence-inciting accounts can go literally years with no consequences, and certainly no moderation."

An investigation has exposed hundreds of thousands of online hate profiles, leading to a call for tougher regulation of online platforms.

A "foul trove of racial hatred" was uncovered on Twitter and Facebook as well as amongst the gaming community through research conducted by the UK-based Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right (CARR).

It comes six months after a public outcry at the abuse of England footballers Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who were targeted online after missing penalties in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.

Researchers found around 300 users or profile names on Twitter derived from a racist phrase


What was found on Twitter?


During their two-day analysis carried out in January, CARR researchers looked for profiles using simple words and phrases as indicators of "systemic failure".

On Twitter, they found around 300 users or profile names derived from a racist phrase, including the N-word, dating as far back as 2009.

Dr Edward Gillbard, who carried out the research, said the majority of accounts had fewer than two followers and were following less than two accounts.

He added that it would "appear there is no automatic moderation being performed by Twitter" in terms of analysing accounts for offensive usernames.

Twitter said the accounts had been "permanently suspended" for "violating our hateful conduct policy".

A spokesman said: "We acknowledge and want to reiterate our commitment to ensuring that Twitter doesn't become a forum that facilitates abuse and we continue to examine our own policy approaches and ways we can enforce our rules at speed and scale."

What was discovered on Facebook?


On Facebook, dozens of offensive profiles, including 83 variants of "hate (N-word)" and 91 on the Holocaust were identified.

Other profiles included the name Adolf Hitler and other high profile Nazis, as well as the names of mass killers such as the Christchurch mosque attacker in New Zealand.

By changing the spelling or inserting spaces and special characters, profiles seemed to be able to fool moderation systems, Dr Bethan Johnson, who found the accounts, said.

"It may be that when users set up profiles with names that clearly mock and flout community standards - from 'Jewkilla' to 'Nate Higgers' - they are telling Facebook what kind of user they will be, what kind of ideas they bring to the platform, and the reality is that is far from community-orientated," she said.

A spokesman for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said hate speech was not allowed on its platforms and the "violating" accounts were removed after being flagged.

He added: "If we find content that violates our policies, including the use of symbols, emojis or misspellings attempting to beat our systems, we will remove it."

Offensive profiles were also found on Facebook.


What about gaming platforms?


An analysis of the digital gaming service Steam revealed more than 300,000 offensive profile names.

Of those, 241,729 were anti-black, 44,368 white supremacist, more than 28,000 neo-Nazi, 8,021 anti-Semitic, 5,607 homophobic, and 168 anti-Muslim.

On the game Fortnite, more than 100 racist and far-right extremist profile names were found and 34 were identified on Rainbow Six Siege, 18 of which were active.

A spokeswoman for Fortnite developer Epic Games said many of the offensive usernames are no longer in their systems and action has been taken against additional accounts provided.

"Usernames that include vulgarity, hate speech, offensive or derogatory language of any kind are in violation of our community rules," she added.

It is understood that the Rainbow Six Siege profiles have been reset with randomised names and any offending pictures have been removed.

A spokesman for the game's creator Ubisoft said the company "does not tolerate any form of bullying or harassment".

The firm takes "concrete actions" to tackle "toxic" behaviour, and violations of its code of conduct could lead to sanctions, including bans, he said.

While automated processes were not "foolproof", teams are constantly working on improving them, he added.

What has the reaction been?

"Finding a foul trove of racial hatred on social media is still shockingly easy," said director of CARR, Professor Matthew Feldman.

"It makes you wonder what the point of moderation is when some of these obvious, overt and in some cases violence-inciting accounts can go literally years with no consequences, and certainly no moderation.

"This material is disgusting and makes it seem that platforms just don't care enough to address this running sore."

He added that platforms had a "duty of care" to users but only government regulations and the threat of tens of millions in fines would bring change.

"Otherwise, these platforms will stay reactive - badly - rather than proactive in taking down hateful extremism," Prof Feldman added.

Danny Stone MBE, chief executive of the Antisemitism Policy Trust which jointly published the report, said: "Six months from the Euro finals, a year from the insurrection at the US capitol, but the story remains the same - social media companies profiting from the sale of our data but failing to properly protect people from harm."

He added: "I hope the forthcoming Online Safety Bill, and legislation across the world, will force social media companies to better look after their users because they appear to be in no hurry to help."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
France Implements Nationwide Outdoor Smoking Ban to Protect Children
German Chancellor Merz Keeps Putin Guessing on Missile Strategy
Mandelson Criticizes UK's 'Fetish' for Abandoning EU Regulations
British Fishing Boat Owner Fined €30,000 by French Authorities
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
×