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A new company wants to take more targeted action against hate messages online and place ads more quickly using artificial intelligence. Several well-known politicians are now involved.
Berlin – The Internet has revolutionized communication worldwide: within seconds, an email can be sent, a photo can be sent to friends WhatsApp spread, record a voice message or set up a video meeting. But this revolution doesn’t only have positive sides: it can be done just as quickly, anonymously and without thought Hate messages spread become. Public figures in particular receive hundreds of such messages a day – and many such messages are punishable by law. A new company now wants to help report hate messages.
Crimes on the Internet: New company wants to report hate messages
Insults, defamation, threats – these are all criminal offenses, even if they happen online. Politicians and public figures in general are particularly affected by these hate messages. Since the beginning of the legislative period, for example, Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) filed over 800 criminal complaints based on online hate. This was the result of a response from the federal government to a request from the AfD parliamentary group in the summer.
A new start-up now wants to help those affected to take tougher action against hate messages. The company So Done was founded, among others, by the FDP-Politician Franziska Brandmann founded, she herself received hate messages.
“Volunteer politically active, she publicly campaigned against sexism in 2022 – and was called a ‘slut’, a ‘bitch’ and a ‘layer of fat’ who should ‘jump out the window’. After a moment of doubt, it was clear to her: She wouldn’t put up with this. But: Where do you start when you get so many comments and messages that you lose track of things? How do you take the time to sift through all the comments and report the offending comments? How to finance the legal costs that would arise in the event of possible legal disputes?” is what the company’s website says about them and the motivation for founding the company.
So Done reports hate messages using AI: compensation is then shared
The company was therefore founded to use AI to submit reports to the authorities. To do this, an AI was trained on German criminal law so that it can recognize which hate messages that victims submit are criminally relevant. These are then checked again by employees and then reported. “If the perpetrators refuse, SO DONE will legally take you to court if in doubt,” it says on the website.
If successful, victims will receive 50 percent of the compensation, and the other 50 percent will be reinvested in the company, it is said. If costs arise, these will be covered by the company and its law firm, So Done promises. According to the company, victims receive an average of 591 euros in compensation.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck is supporting a new start-up in combating hate online. © Anna Ross/dpa
According to the company, numerous celebrities have already contacted So Done to use their system. Robert Habeck, Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU), FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Carlo Masala from the University of Bundeswehr and Bundesliga player Marius Bülter are also among the start-up’s supporters. The young company is now being financially supported with their compensation, among other things.
Many people consider online hate towards female politicians to be acceptable
It has recently become known that politicians in particular are victims of hate messages. But many people think that this is correct, as an investigation by the non-profit organization HateAid found in early 2024:
43 percent of those surveyed think that female politicians have to endure hostility online because it is part of their job. 45 percent think that female politicians contribute to hostility against themselves on social media when they make certain statements and 34 percent understand when people insult female politicians online out of dissatisfaction, even if they themselves would not attack female politicians on social media.
