About
This project aims to provide a comprehensive account of Australians’ experiences of online hostility, abuse, trolling and extremist hate speech, which have increased over the past decade. The research expects to analyse the experiences of diverse Australian online users, moderators and stakeholders, to determine their practices, attitudes, and innovations, and their perceptions on how to address this socialp roblem. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced understanding of the support needs and remedies to online hostility among a diverse cross-section of Australians. This will provide significant benefits by providing roadmaps for improved intervention, support, regulation and education on digital communication in Australia.
Funding details
Australian Research Council Discovery Projects Scheme DP230100870
Chief investigators
Jennifer is a lecturer in Media and Communications at The University of Melbourne. Her research primarily looks at online governance of social spaces on the internet, from large social media companies like Facebook to smaller online communities. Before joining the University of Melbourne, Jennifer worked as an online and social media producer for radio current affairs at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Associate Professor Benedetta Brevini
Dr Benedetta Brevini is Associate Professor of political economy of communication at the University of Sydney. She holds Visiting Fellowships at the Centre for Law, Justice and Journalism at City University, London, at WZB in Berlin and at the Centre for Media, Data and Society at the Central European University, Budapest. She is the author of several books including Is AI good for the Planet ? (2021) and Amazon, Understanding a Global Communication Giant (2020).
Rob is Professor of Digital Communication at RMIT University and Co-Director of the RMIT Digital Ethnography Research Centre. He researches youth wellbeing and identity in digital contexts. The author of 10 recent books including Queer Youth Suicide, Culture and Identity: Unliveable Lives? (2012); Digital Identities: Creating and Communicating the Online Self (2016); Emergent Identities: New Sexualities, Gender and Relationships in a Digital Era (2019), Fake News in Digital Cultures (with A Haw and JD Thompson, 2022) and Identity and Digital Communication (2023).
Catharine is an Australian academic, author and journalist, currently Professor of Media and Communications at the University of Sydney. Catharine has an acclaimed career in seeking new ways to connect popular culture, feminist theory, practical politics and journalism in the service of abused or vulnerabilised constituencies. The author of several books, including Bad Girls: The Media, Sex and Feminism in the 90s (1997); Gotcha: Life in a Tabloid World (1999); and Feeling Terrified? The Emotions of Online Violent Extremism (with L Walden and J Droogan, 2021). A longstanding social commentator on radio and television, she delivers talks and workshops to educators, parents and young people on social media, ethics and respectful relationships.
Jay is a Lecturer in Media & Communication at RMIT University. His research investigates what an ethical response to online disinformation and misinformation might look like, and how such an approach might operate alongside the concept of ‘free speech’. Jay is co-author of two recent books: Fake News in Digital Cultures (with R Cover and A Haw, 2022) and Content Production for Digital Media (with J Weldon, 2022).
Research team
Joscelyn Gleave
Josie Gleave is a PhD candidate in Media and Communication at RMIT University studying image-based sexual abuse and the news media’s influence on the victim-survivor experience. Her research is influenced by her work as a journalist and victim’s advocate raising awareness and empowering victim survivors to share their experiences.
Joel Humphries
Joel Humphries is a PhD candidate at RMIT University, researching queer communities’ engagement with emerging internet technologies, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain. Joel’s practice interrogates the intersection of queerness and technology, culminating in his cult newsletter, Queer Computer. His work has been published by Overland literary journal (2022) and Crawlspace (2023).
Rhyle Simcock
Rhyle is a PhD Candidate at the Queensland University of Technology. His primary research interests lie at the intersection of law, policy and technology, focusing specifically on artificial intelligence and digital platforms. Rhyle’s PhD thesis examines the extent to which Australia’s administrative law framework can regulate the use of machine learning systems in the public sector.
RMIT Digital Hostility and Disinformation Lab (@ The Digital Ethnography Research Centre) 