Misreading uncivil and intolerant antiimmigration content in digital spheres: The role of recent online perpetration

Online hostility has become increasingly common in digital public spaces, often to the detriment of marginalized groups. While prior research distinguishes between incivility and intolerance, little is known about whether users can recognize these forms as conceptually distinct. Moreover, the roles of prior digital hate perpetration and national context in shaping such perceptions remain unclear. This cross-national survey (N = 4041; Austria, France, Hungary, and Sweden) addresses these gaps. Participants rated uncivil anti-immigration content not only as more uncivil but also as more intolerant than explicitly intolerant content, indicating an alarming misreading of exclusionary messages. Recent perpetration was associated with weaker recognition of incivility and intolerance, as well as reduced differentiation between content types, suggesting desensitization and blurred perceptual boundaries. The findings were consistent across countries, indicating that these mechanisms transcend national contexts. Strengthening users’ ability to recognize subtle exclusionary rhetoric is essential to counter its normalization in public spheres.