Online hate speech: Who faces the most online toxicity in Europe?

Published on 27/05/2026 - 9:00 GMT+2

In 2025, just under half of internet users across 20 EU countries encountered online messages they considered hostile and degrading towards specific groups or individuals, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.

The highest shares were recorded in Ireland, Hungary, Finland and Slovakia, while the lowest shares were in Latvia, Greece, Germany and Lithuania.

The messages targeted a wide range of groups and individuals.

Most people saw hostile content aimed at others for their political or social views, racial and ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or religion and beliefs.

Hostile messages also targeted people based on sex, disability, age, or other personal characteristics.

According to a study in the international scientific journal Nature, young men are consistently the most hostile group in online political discussions.

"Social media platforms may also be intertwined with broader socio-economic and political tensions, produced outside the platforms," Nature's research noted.

What are the most toxic social media platforms?

In the last quarter of 2025, Western Europe consistently recorded the highest levels of online toxicity across Europe, according to the European Observatory of Online Hate.

Southern Europe followed a similar trajectory at slightly lower levels, with a rise toward late December that mirrored trends in Western Europe.

Meanwhile, Eastern Europe recorded the lowest toxicity levels overall.

Antisemitic content was frequently linked to racist themes, significantly overlapping with religion and politics, highlighting the deeply ideological and conspiratorial nature of this discourse.

This is followed by anti-Muslim, anti-LGBTQ+, and anti-refugee content.

Among major social media platforms, X was found to be the most toxic, ahead of YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, although levels of toxicity have remained stable or even decreased.

For instance, in 2024, X ended with a score of 0.24, corresponding to a medium toxicity in the EOOH scale - a score difference of 0.01 compared with 2025.