Description
This first section tries to identify the context of the term "hate speech", with the aim of defining the phenomenon starting from the themes that are generally attributed to it, highlighting its connections and facets.
In this regard, Google Trends has provided a percentage ranking of the most searched words in the United States along with "hate speech", during the last year from the date of the query. The results were twofold, on one hand the absolute percentage of terms most sought after by users, and on the other the relative data on arguments that have recorded a significant increase in searches over the same period of time.
In the first visualization, the actual data of this search has been returned assigning different languages to the absolute ranking of "Top topics" and to the data relative to "Trending topics", as defined by the Device. In detail, on the horizontal axis, the terms are placed with the respective attribution of the absolute percentage data, proportional to the magnitude of a circle, and of the relative increment, by means of a line dimensioned along the vertical axis. The values defined by Google Trends as "soaring" have been understood with a value tending towards infinity. Subsequently, in order to capture and summarize the value of the information acquired, a qualitative analysis on lexical identities was carried out among the terms, selecting only those present.
Subsequently, in order to capture and summarize the value of the information acquired, a qualitative analysis on lexical identities was carried out among the terms, selecting only those where present.
The result of the second visualization highlights indeed the relationships between the terms, anticipating superficially the contents present in the debate on "hate speech" which is analyzed in depth in the following sections.
In general, the words with the common root "nazi" and those containing the term "speech", a semantic union between "Hate speech" and "Freedom of speech", emerge as more closely connected. This latter union highlights a growing segment of the controversy, which takes place on the axis of individual tolerance and sensitivity, linked to the worldview, politics and social affairs in general.
Protocol
We typed the word “Hate speech” as general query on Google Trends, with these filters: Location - United States, Language - English, and Time - from 23/11/2016 to 23/11/2017.
After that, we picked the most searched topics and the related trending topics, and used Illustrator in order to highlight their connections.