Broadband Internet, Market Demographics and Hate Groups

Abstract

We argue that the Internet increases hate when there is better matching between buyers and sellers (“direct effect”) and decreases hate when the processing of online information discredits the seller’s reputation (“indirect effect”). Using data from United States commuting zones, we show that contemporary and traditional white-supremacist hate groups are more prevalent in markets with higher Internet penetration and the Internet’s effect is stronger in youthful markets and weaker in educated markets. We interpret this as evidence that educated consumers are more objective when investigating information distributed over the Internet compared to youthful consumers, and that policy should address both the local supply and the demand for hate-based content. For example, policies that restrict minors’ access to cyberhate overlook the importance of decreasing demand by teaching young people how to employ the necessary critical-thinking and fact-checking skills to debunk the misinformation that pervades the Internet.