L'hate speech online e le risposte della Cittadinanza Onlife

This chapter examines online hate speech through the lens of “Onlife Citizenship,” a framework that emphasises the continuous interweaving of online and offline sociality. Drawing on research in media education, intercultural pedagogy, and hate-speech studies, the author outlines three interpretative premises. First, hate must be understood as a gradual process along a continuum of behaviours—from insults and verbal aggression to discrimination and hate crimes—captured by the “Pyramid of Hate.” Second, hate is a multidimensional and ambiguous yet analytically useful category that intersects with various forms of hostility and prejudice. Third, the Council of Europe’s Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)16 provides a three-level classification of hate speech, including a pedagogically crucial “citizenship level,” which highlights harmful expressions not reaching legal thresholds but still capable of fuelling intolerance and undermining democratic cohesion. The chapter then analyses how structural features of the social web—algorithmic selection, information overload, filter bubbles, echo chambers, toxic disinhibition, emotional illiteracy, and the spiral of silence—facilitate the escalation and normalisation of hostility. Particular attention is given to the role of memes, viral communication, and fast, emotion-driven cognitive processes in amplifying prejudice. Finally, the author discusses educational responses aimed at fostering Onlife Citizenship, linking critical thinking, empathy, responsibility, and media literacy. Through examples of counter-speech, peer- and media-education projects, and youth-driven creative campaigns, the chapter argues for an integrated pedagogical approach capable of transforming digital environments into spaces of participation, justice, and active civic engagement.