Celebrity messages reduce online hate and limit its spread

TL;DR

A large-scale randomized trial shows that celebrity messages can effectively reduce online hate speech and its spread, with effects lasting several months and scalable to large audiences.

Contribution

This study provides the first large-scale randomized controlled evidence that celebrity-endorsed messages can significantly curb online hate and its amplification.

Findings

Hate content reduced by 2.5% to 5.5% during the campaign

Approximately 75% of hate reduction persisted over four months

Reaching more users decreased hate reposts by over 50% for highly exposed accounts

Abstract

Online hate spreads rapidly, yet little is known about whether preventive and scalable strategies can curb it. We conducted the largest randomized controlled trial of hate speech prevention to date: a 20-week messaging campaign on X in Nigeria targeting ethnic hate. 73,136 users who had previously engaged with hate speech were randomly assigned to receive prosocial video messages from Nigerian celebrities. The campaign reduced hate content by 2.5% to 5.5% during treatment, with about 75% of the reduction persisting over the following four months. Reaching a larger share of a user's audience reduced amplification of that user's hate posts among both treated and untreated users, cutting hate reposts by over 50% for the most exposed accounts. Scalable messaging can limit online hate without removing content.