Italy's Calabria study finds 72% of hate speech occurs online

A research project funded by the European Union and coordinated by the Foundation L'Albero della Vita presented its findings at the University of Calabria. The study, titled “Mapping Hate and Discrimination in Italy: Structural Invisibility, Multi‑Source Monitoring and the Calabrian Case Study,” shows that 71.6% of hate‑speech incidents are recorded in the digital environment, while the remaining 28.4% occur in physical settings such as schools, workplaces and public spaces.

In 2024 the national anti‑discrimination office (UNAR) logged 17,640 reports, of which 93.7% were identified through web and media monitoring. The researchers describe Calabria as a case of “structural invisibility,” not because discrimination is less frequent, but because it is under‑reported and poorly monitored. So far the MYTHiC initiative has reached over 840 students, trained 80 territorial operators and more than 30 teachers, and plans to launch local laboratories and a protected‑reporting system to support victims.