Analyzing the political conversation in Kristiansand

We are pleased to release our latest findings from the Safe Digital City project, which has analyzed the comments section on political parties’ Facebook pages in Kristiansand.

The analysis reveals that on average, there is twice as much online hate in political conversations compared to the broader digital conversation in Kristiansand. Most of the hate takes place in the comment sections of certain parties.

The analysis is the second part of a three-part program. The first part focused on the public digital conversation in general, revealing that Muslims, LGBTQ+ individuals, and young people are more frequently targeted with hate speech than other groups.

Kristiansand has partnered with Nordic Safe Cities to map the city’s digital landscape using algorithms that analyze Facebook conversations. The analysis does not access individual Facebook profiles but examines the hate speech in the comment sections of public pages and Facebook groups.

The four main findings of the analysis are:

• On average, there is twice as much online hate in political conversations as in the broader digital conversation in Kristiansand. Most of the hate takes place in the comment sections of certain parties.
• Online hate is primarily found in conversations about national politics and integration.
• Politicians themselves are subject to many personal attacks.
• The hate takes place in the comment sections of a few parties and is almost exclusively directed at Muslims.

Multicultural adviser in Kristiansand Kim Henrik Gronert said the analysis confirms what minority groups in the region have been describing as part of their everyday life on Facebook: That they are being targeted with harassment and online hate.

Social media polarization divides the debate into “us” and “them” and unfortunately leads many people not to want or be able to participate in the political conversation.

The findings call for immediate action, and Kristiansand is already taking steps to address the issue.

“Kristiansand shall be a safe city for everyone, including digitally, and this analysis will be part of our strategy to prevent and combat hate speech and bullying,” said Kommunedirektør Camilla B. Dunsæd at the event of the analysis’ release.

The Nordic Safe Cities project continues to work with cities across the Nordic region to improve digital safety and build stronger communities.