We Support People Affected by Online Hate
Online hate can cause real harm. Abuse, threats, harassment and the spread of dehumanising or discriminatory content can undermine people’s safety, dignity and sense of belonging. It can also contribute to wider hostility towards communities and reinforce prejudice and discrimination.
Stop Hate UK supports people affected by online hate, just as we support people experiencing hate offline. We listen to people affected, provide information and advice, and help them explore their options for reporting incidents and accessing support.
No one should have to face hate alone. Whether you have been targeted directly, witnessed abuse or are concerned about hostility towards a community, support is available.
What is Online Hate Crime?
Online hate is hostility, prejudice or abuse directed at individuals, groups or communities because of their identity or perceived identity. It can be expressed through social media posts, comments, videos, images, memes, livestreams, online forums, private messages and other digital communications.
Online hate can include:
Identity-based abuse: racist, antisemitic, Islamophobic, anti-migrant, homophobic, biphobic, transphobic, ableist or other prejudiced language and attacks.
Threats and intimidation: threats of violence, targeted intimidation or communications intended to frighten or threaten people.
Harassment and stalking: repeated unwanted contact, abusive messages, monitoring or coordinated targeting.
Dehumanising content: portraying people or communities as inferior, dangerous, less deserving of rights or less than human.
Hateful misinformation and disinformation: false or misleading claims about individuals or communities that reinforce prejudice, spread conspiracy theories or encourage hostility.
Incitement to hatred or violence: content that may encourage hostility, hatred or violence against people because of their identity.
Targeted sharing and amplification: reposting, circulating or directing others towards abusive content, which can expose targeted people to further hostility and intimidation.
Online hate can be directed at a person, a whole community or people perceived to belong to a particular group. Someone can also be targeted because they support, work alongside or are associated with people from a targeted community.
Online hate is not limited to one platform, political viewpoint or community. It can affect people of any background, and it can take many forms.
Online Hate and Hate Crime: What is the Difference?
Online hate and online hate crime are related, but they are not interchangeable terms.
A hate crime is a criminal offence that is motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s actual or perceived race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity, or where the offender demonstrates such hostility.
Online conduct can constitute a hate crime when the relevant legal requirements are met. For example, an online threat, harassment or criminal communication may be treated as a hate crime if the evidence establishes the relevant hostility.
Online hate can also include prejudiced or discriminatory conduct that does not fall within these five monitored strands. Stop Hate UK supports people affected by hostility and discrimination relating to a wider range of personal characteristics and identities.
Hate and discrimination can cause harm even when the conduct does not meet the legal threshold for a criminal offence. People affected by online hate can seek support, document what has happened and explore appropriate reporting options.
What is the difference between online Hate and offline Hate?
Online hate can have particular characteristics that make it difficult to deal with.
Speed and reach
A hateful post, image or video can be shared widely in a short period. People who have never met the person targeted may join in, spread the content or direct further abuse towards them.
Persistence
Online content can remain accessible, be copied or be reposted long after it was first published. Removing an original post does not necessarily remove every copy.
Repeated and coordinated targeting
People may experience repeated abuse from one individual, multiple accounts or groups of users. A series of posts, messages or interactions can create sustained pressure and intimidation.
Anonymity and hidden identities
Some people use anonymous or pseudonymous accounts to target others. This can make it more difficult to identify the person responsible, although online activity may leave evidence that can assist an investigation.
Impact beyond the individual
Online hate can affect families, friendship groups and wider communities. When people repeatedly encounter messages portraying their identity as inferior, threatening or unwelcome, it can undermine their sense of safety and belonging.
These features do not mean that every online incident is the same or that every person will experience the same impact. They demonstrate why online abuse and identity-based hostility should be taken seriously.
How Common is Online Hate?
The Home Office’s Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2026 statistical release, published on 8 October 2026, includes the latest official figures on police-recorded hate crime with an online element.
The figures show that:
8,028 hate crime offences recorded by police were flagged as having an online element in the year ending March 2026.
This represented approximately 7% of all police-recorded hate crime offences in the reporting data.
The online figures were supplied by 35 of the 44 police forces covered by the analysis.
Of the online hate crime offences recorded, 43% involved stalking and harassment offences, while a further 39% involved malicious communications.
The Home Office classifies these figures as official statistics in development. They are being developed and tested to improve their quality and usefulness. The figures may underrepresent online hate crime because there may be cases where the available information is insufficient to identify that an offence involved online activity.
Police-recorded statistics also reflect incidents reported to and recorded by the police. They do not capture every experience of online hate, and they should not be treated as a complete measure of its prevalence.
These figures nevertheless demonstrate that online activity forms part of a significant number of recorded hate crime offences, including harassment and malicious communications.
Source: Home Office – Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2026.
What Does the Law Say About Online Hate?
The internet is not separate from the law. Criminal offences can be committed through social media, messaging services, websites, forums and other digital communications.
Depending on the circumstances, online conduct may involve offences such as:
Harassment or stalking.
Threats of violence or other threatening communications.
Sending certain false or threatening communications.
Certain criminal communications and public order offences.
Certain offences involving the stirring up of racial or religious hatred, or hatred on grounds of sexual orientation.
Other criminal offences committed or facilitated through online platforms.
The legal provisions that may apply include the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, the Public Order Act 1986 and the communications offences in the Online Safety Act 2023. Where a relevant criminal offence involves hostility based on a monitored characteristic, hate crime provisions may also apply.
The Online Safety Act 2023 introduced specific communications offences, including false communications intended to cause non-trivial psychological or physical harm and threatening communications involving threats of death or serious harm. Each offence has its own legal requirements.
The law also places duties on regulated online services to address specified risks and illegal content. These duties are distinct from the criminal liability of an individual who creates or shares unlawful content.
Hateful, prejudiced or discriminatory content can be harmful even when it does not constitute a criminal offence. The law addresses particular forms of conduct; it does not determine whether every expression of prejudice is acceptable. People and communities can challenge discriminatory attitudes, call out harmful rhetoric and advocate for equality and dignity.
Sources for more information:
How Stop Hate UK Tackles Online Hate
The anonymity of the Internet bolsters people to post harmful information more frequently compared to spreading Hate in the real world. The speed and convenience at which hatred is spread online is also a factor in how easy it is for someone to be bolder online.
Hence, facing hate online on your phone, on your personal social accounts constantly can be an incredibly lonely and difficult experience.
Stop Hate UK’s 24hr Helpline service provides a safe space for callers to tell us about their experiences and help explain the options available and provide free, independent advice. Nothing is ever too small to report to our team. We acknowledge that it can be a build up of incidents that lead to Hate Crime, and that’s why we are always on hand to listen and provide ongoing support when making a report.
Stories from callers
A mother contacted Stop Hate UK after her transgender son and his girlfriend were targeted with transphobic abuse in comments on his social media account.
Stop Hate UK listened to the family’s concerns, helped them document the incident and provided advice on gathering evidence and reporting the content to the social media platform. The family felt heard and better equipped to decide how to respond.
A caller contacted Stop Hate UK after encountering homophobic comments in an online group created for Pride events. When the caller responded, the individual continued posting homophobic and prejudiced comments.
Stop Hate UK provided emotional support and information about documenting the abuse, reporting it to the platform and considering whether to report the incident to the police.
How to Respond to Online Hate
If you experience or witness online hate, there are steps you can take to protect yourself, preserve information and seek support.
1. Preserve evidence
Where it is safe to do so, take screenshots of abusive posts or messages and record the date, time, account name and relevant web address. Keep copies of any threats or repeated contact. Avoid engaging with content if doing so could put you at further risk.
2. Report the content to the platform
Use the platform’s reporting tools to flag content that breaches its rules or may be unlawful. Platforms have different reporting procedures, so follow the relevant instructions and keep a record of your report where possible.
3. Consider reporting to the police
If you believe an offence has occurred, you can report it to the police. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999. For non-emergency matters, call 101 or use the police’s online reporting services.
You do not need to determine the precise offence yourself before seeking advice or making a report.
4. Seek support
Experiencing online hate can be isolating, distressing and exhausting. You can speak to a trusted person or seek support from an organisation that works with people affected by hate and discrimination.
5. Look after your wellbeing
Consider blocking or muting accounts, adjusting privacy settings and limiting unwanted contact. You do not have to respond to every abusive post or challenge every person who expresses prejudice. Prioritise your safety and wellbeing.
Why Support Us
Online hate can have a lasting impact on individuals and communities. Stop Hate UK works to support people affected by hate, challenge prejudice and improve understanding of how hostility spreads and how it can be addressed.
Your support helps us continue this work through our reporting services, education, training and campaigns.