An ecolinguistic approach to hate speech in Indonesian and Kenyan online media

This study discusses the hate speech phenomenon found in social media in Indonesia and Kenya, as representatives of Asian and African countries, respectively. These countries have different religious backgrounds, social, political, and cultural values that have an impact on how people of these countries use hate speech. Using data of hate speech from publicly accessible social media platforms—Facebook, X, YouTube and TikTok—the research investigates how hate speech can be classified based on the sociological, ideological, and biological aspects of the Triple Dimension Model of analysis from an ecolinguistic perspective. The findings demonstrate that hate speech in Indonesia and Kenya is embedded in exclusionary narratives associated with religion, ethnicity, politics, and gender. Through the strategies of identity-based othering, religious/political polarization and delegitimization, hate speech in online discourse triggers social divisions, hierarchies, and marginalization. Even though most hate speech shows universal patterns, such as targeting people based on identity markers like ethnicity, religion, gender, or political affiliation, there are context-specific features of hate speech like the one shaped by religious plurality and the tension between majority and minority groups. Hate speech in both countries contributes to ecological harms by reinforcing stereotypes, inciting hostility, and weakening inclusive communication.