[?혐오사회] Increasing 'Hate Speech' Every Year... Sharp Rise After the 'Pandemic'

From 709 cases in 2020 to 2,453 last year
2,362 cases as of September this year
Due to the perception of 'Hate = Business'
YouTubers mass-produce provocative hate content
Perpetrator → Victim → Perpetrator again cycle
Sharing videos without hate speech also causes secondary harm

Editor's NoteAt a time when the entire nation is deeply shocked by the 'Itaewon Disaster' with 307 casualties and 155 deaths, the long-standing 'hatred' is stirring again. It comes in various kinds and forms. As the government announced support measures for the victims, reactions ranged from "Why should I pay taxes for an accident that happened while they were dancing and having fun?" to baseless suspicions such as "Groups of Chinese people pushed others," along with rampant racial and gender divisions. In hateful posts, there are neither perpetrators nor victims. The perpetrators become victims by other hateful perpetrators and spread like an epidemic in an instant. Ultimately, the only way to stop this is through our society's self-purification efforts. Looking back on the hectic two days after the disaster, we examined where we should go to escape a hateful society.

#. A car tuning specialist YouTuber A, with over 700 subscribers, uploaded two live videos of the Itaewon accident scene on the 30th. Previously focusing mainly on wrapping and painting processes, this YouTuber garnered nearly 200,000 views per video with the live accident footage. Similarly, real estate specialist YouTuber B, who had only posted real estate-related content, posted consecutive videos of the Itaewon disaster, recording over 180,000 views. On Twitter, searching the hashtag (#) 'Itaewon' brings up related search terms such as 'Itaewon death' and 'Itaewon accident.'

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) held an emergency review on the 31st of last month and deleted or blocked access to 11 photos and videos detected through its own monitoring. Among these, 8 were from domestic providers and 3 from overseas providers. The number of general complaints also reached 17. The KCSC took preemptive measures as unfiltered images and videos of the Itaewon disaster scene spread indiscriminately through social networking services (SNS) such as YouTube and Twitter, as well as internet communities.

Cruel and hateful posts increase every year... Explosive surge since the 2021 pandemic

According to the KCSC, cruel and hateful posts on the internet have been increasing annually. The number of reviewed related posts rose from 383 in 2018 to 577 in 2019, 709 in 2020, 2,453 in 2021, and 2,362 accumulated by September 2022. Complaints surged explosively starting in 2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Especially when socially enraging incidents like the Itaewon disaster occur, views and videos shared for personal promotion and mocking posts reproduce the issue, causing a rapid increase in hateful expressions and posts.

The government judged that secondary damage larger than the Itaewon incident could occur and responded immediately. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo also recommended refraining from sharing hateful, false, and sensational videos through the internet and other channels. The Korea Communications Commission urged SNS, portal, and community operators to refrain from sharing such posts and asked broadcasters to comply with disaster reporting guidelines. Portals also posted notices urging restraint and caution and cooperated accordingly.

Twitter Korea posted media-related policy notices, and Kakao posted announcements on its Cafe and KakaoStory platforms. The anonymous workplace community Blind also urged users to be cautious when posting through its notices. However, YouTube Korea only added a 'black ribbon' on its logo as a memorial gesture and did not post separate notices.

Sharing videos itself, even without hateful expressions, constitutes 'secondary harm' to bereaved families

Experts warn that even if the videos shared do not contain direct hateful expressions, the act of sharing itself can lead to secondary harm to the bereaved families. Sharing videos can become a broad form of hateful expression regardless of the original intent. The Korean Neuropsychiatric Association urged the public, who witnessed the disaster through news and SNS, to stop spreading videos and photos without filtering, as they also experience psychological trauma.

Professor Hong Sung-chul of the Department of Media and Visual Studies at Kyonggi University said, "Although the victims do not want to recall the incident, unlike in the past, it remains permanently recorded on the internet, which can cause wounds," adding, "Not only the victims and bereaved families but also ordinary people who see the videos can suffer severe fatigue and trauma."

However, there are concerns that pre-censorship and regulation of portals may cause more harm than good. Professor Lee Byung-min of the Department of Cultural Contents at Konkuk University said, "Because of freedom of expression, pre-censorship can be risky," and added, "It is necessary to entrust it autonomously but solve it in the long term through education or establishing guidelines." Professor Hong also said, "This issue requires mature civic consciousness, and solving it through regulation risks infringing on freedom of expression."

In an era where hatred generates profit, perpetrators become victims by other perpetrators

It is an era where someone's death becomes money. Simply hating someone can bring sponsorship profits from users. The stronger the hatred, the more enthusiastic supporters one gains, which ultimately leads to increased revenue. It is the easiest business. The more sensational and controversial, the more money it makes. This is why car and real estate specialist YouTubers rush to the Itaewon accident scene and spew harsh language, and why terms like 'Hannam,' 'Hannyeo,' and 'Chinese conspiracy theory' circulate online.

The same thing is happening with the 'Itaewon Disaster.' While the government and portals block sensational videos and photos and delete hateful remarks, these individuals incite hatred for profit. The perpetrators of hatred soon become victims by other hateful perpetrators. In a 2019 paper published in the Journal of Broadcasting Studies titled "How Hate Speech Becomes Business in Internet Personal Broadcasting," author Kim Ji-soo (Seoul National University master's thesis) presented research showing that hateful remarks against women are used as business tools by creators active on YouTube and AfreecaTV.

"If social tension caused by hatred rises, it can escalate into collective madness and violence"

In the paper, Kim pointed out that "hatred becomes a commodity." The research revealed that creators' hateful remarks receive strong responses from users and sometimes start due to users' incitement. Through interactive communication, creators deliver the hatred that users want to see and hear. Furthermore, the study noted that sponsorship revenue increased depending on the presence and intensity of hateful remarks. Although the research focused on misogyny, the same results would apply to race, nationality, and other categories.

Carolin Emcke, author of 'Hate in Society,' said, "Hateful acts are socially colluded through bystander attitudes as if it were someone else's problem. If social tension caused by hatred continues to rise, it can easily escalate into uncontrollable collective madness and violence." This means that if the tension caused by hatred infiltrating our society is not continuously alleviated and managed, it could become a social problem greater than the disaster itself.