Echoes of Norms: Investigating Counterspeech Bots' Influence on Bystanders in Online Communities

TL;DR

This study explores how counterspeech chatbots influence online community bystanders, highlighting the importance of strategy, tone, and context in shaping discourse and encouraging intervention.

Contribution

We developed Civilbot and a framework for counterspeech strategies, providing empirical insights into their subtle behavioral effects on bystanders.

Findings

Civibot was viewed as credible and normative by bystanders.

Effective strategies involved reasoning and positive tone, with context matching.

Poorly performing strategies could discourage or motivate bystander intervention.

Abstract

Counterspeech offers a non-repressive approach to moderate hate speech in online communities. Research has examined how counterspeech chatbots restrain hate speakers and support targets, but their impact on bystanders remains unclear. Therefore, we developed a counterspeech strategy framework and built \textit{Civilbot} for a mixed-method within-subjects study. Bystanders generally viewed Civilbot as credible and normative, though its shallow reasoning limited persuasiveness. Its behavioural effects were subtle: when performing well, it could guide participation or act as a stand-in; when performing poorly, it could discourage bystanders or motivate them to step in. Strategy proved critical: cognitive strategies that appeal to reason, especially when paired with a positive tone, were relatively effective, while mismatch of contexts and strategies could weaken impact. Based on these findings, we offer design insights for mobilizing bystanders and shaping online discourse, highlighting when to intervene and how to do so through reasoning-driven and context-aware strategies.