Hate speech toward migrants on a citizen reporting platform concentrates in neighborhoods undergoing demographic change

Research analyzing citizen reporting platform data in Santiago, Chile, indicates that reports mentioning migrants are more likely to contain hate speech. This hate speech is concentrated in neighborhoods experiencing recent demographic change due to post-2010 migration, rather than in areas with established migrant populations. The study utilized over 550,000 geolocated reports and a fine-tuned Spanish hate speech classifier.

Why it matters

This research highlights a critical social and technological challenge, demonstrating how digital platforms can reveal localized social tensions related to migration. Understanding these spatiotemporal patterns of exclusion is crucial for maintaining social cohesion and informing strategies for urban integration in diverse communities.

Key insights

• Over 550,000 geolocated reports from SOSAFE, a major citizen reporting platform in Chile, were analyzed.
• A Spanish hate speech classifier was fine-tuned and validated against human labels for this research.
• Reports that explicitly mention migrants exhibit a higher likelihood of containing hate speech compared to other report types.
• The concentration of hate speech is observed in areas undergoing recent demographic shifts from post-2010 migrant arrivals.
• Hate speech does not primarily concentrate in established migrant communities, but in areas with newer demographic changes.

Source

arXiv — Computers and Society — https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.12581