Fifty-three percent of respondents experienced some sort of harassment on the internet last year, with 37 percent saying the attacks were severe, such as sexual harassment or stalking, according to an Anti-Defamation League poll released on Wednesday.
The percentage of those who said they were harassed was significantly higher than the 41 percent who said so in a 2017 Pew Research survey.
Those suffering a severe attack was more than double the 18 percent who reported one in the Pew poll.
Adam Neufeld, vice president of innovation and strategy at the ADL, an organization that tracks and fights anti-Semitism, said the results were “significantly worse than we expected," according to The Hill.
“It’s deeply disturbing to see how prevalent online hate is, and how it affects so many Americans,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt added. “Cyberhate is not limited to what’s solely behind a screen; it can have grave effects on the quality of everyday lives – both online and offline.
Other results of the survey included:
- More than 80 percent said they want the government to act by strengthening laws and improving training for police on online hate and harassment.
- Fifty-six percent of those harassed said at least some of it occurred on Facebook. Nineteen percent experienced it on Twitter, 17 percent on Youtube and 16 percent on Instagram.
- Fifty-nine percent said online hate and harassment are making hate crimes more common.
- Twenty-two percent said they feel less safe in their community due to the result of online hate
The ADL surveyed 1,134 people between Dec. 17-27. The margin of error is 3 points. The ADL said they oversampled respondents who identified as Jewish, Muslim, African American, Asian American or LGBTQ.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.