Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP17554
Authors: Carlo Schwarz; Rafael Jiménez Duran; Karsten Müller
Abstract: We study the online and offline effects of content moderation on social media using the introduction of Germany’s "Network Enforcement Act" (NetzDG), which fines social media platforms failing to remove hateful posts. We show that the law transformed social media discourse: posts became less hateful, refugee-related content less inflammatory, and the use of moderated platforms increased. The NetzDG also had offline effects by reducing anti-refugee hate crimes by 1% for every standard deviation in exposure to far-right social media use. The law reduced hate crimes partly by making it harder for perpetrators to coordinate, without changing attitudes toward refugees.
Keywords: refugees; germany
JEL Codes: L82; J15; O38
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| netzdg (K24) | reduction in toxic posts (Q53) |
| netzdg (K24) | reduction in antirefugee hate crimes (J15) |
| higher afd followers (Y70) | stronger reduction in hate crimes (J79) |
| intensity of interaction with afd's facebook page (C91) | stronger reduction in hate crimes (J79) |