Hate Against Creators and Influencers: What to Do

A video goes viral, and suddenly there are hundreds of hate comments under your post. Or the same accounts have been following you from platform to platform for months. Hate against creators and influencers is part of everyday life for many, whether you have 500 or 500,000 followers. That does not mean you have to accept it. This guide shows how to slow down comment floods, protect your address, cope with the strain and what legal options exist in Germany.

Why are creators and influencers targeted so often?

• Visibility: if you post publicly, you also reach people who dislike you. Algorithms often boost exactly the posts where people argue.
• Waves: a single post that gets shared or criticised on another channel can trigger thousands of comments.
• Closeness: if you show a lot of your life, you seem approachable. Some people conclude they are entitled to answers or access.
• Dependence: if you live from reach, you cannot simply switch off comments without fearing a downside.

You have to tolerate harsh criticism of your content; freedom of expression covers it. Insults, threats and lies about you, you do not.

What should you do during a comment flood?

1. Save first, but selectively: you do not have to document every comment. Focus on threats, your address or other private data, sexualised comments and insults from clearly identifiable accounts. Take a screenshot with profile name, date and time, plus the link to the comment. Ask someone you trust to help.
2. Then moderate:
   • Temporarily limit or turn off comments on individual posts.
   • Set up word filters: terms, spellings with numbers or asterisks, emojis, and your real name or town.
   • Hold comments for review before they appear.
   • Limit comments and messages from accounts that do not follow you or only started recently, where the platform offers this.
   • Give others moderation rights. Many platforms let trusted people moderate for you.
3. Hide rather than delete: some platforms let you restrict comments or accounts so that only the person themselves still sees their comments. That often slows things down without sparking new anger.
4. Do not reply in the heat of the moment. A statement can help, but it does not have to. You owe nobody a justification.

These features have different names on each platform and change with updates. Look in the settings for words like comments, filters, restrict or moderation.

How can creators protect their address?

• Legal notice (Impressum): under German law, anyone who offers digital services on a business basis, usually for payment, needs a legal notice with their name, the address where they are established and an email address (§ 5 of the German Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, DDG, not to be confused with the EU’s DSA). This can apply to creators with brand deals or advertising. Whether an alternative to your home address is permitted, and which one, depends on the case. Get advice before you change anything.
• Information block in the population register (§ 51 BMG): if facts suggest that information from the register could put your life, health, personal freedom or similar interests at risk, the registration office enters a block. The law expressly includes protection from threats, insults and stalking. The block is free of charge, lasts two years and can be extended. You apply at your local registration office (Meldebehörde).
• What is in the picture: house fronts, the view from your window, school or university logos, number plates and live locations reveal more than you think. Post places after you have left.
• Secure your accounts: a separate email address for your channel, two-factor authentication, strong passwords.

If your address has already been published, read Doxxing: What to Do When Your Address Is Online.

How do you cope with the strain?

Hate hurts even when you know it says nothing about you. Trouble sleeping, going over things again and again, or the urge to check comments constantly are common reactions.

• Hand over the reading: let someone you trust or your team pre-sort comments.
• Fixed times: do not check comments right after posting or before going to sleep.
• Plan breaks: pre-produced content or an announced break takes off pressure.
• Talk: to friends, other creators or a counselling service. HateAid offers counselling to people affected by digital violence.

More in Mental Health After Online Hate: What Helps Now. If you are struggling: the Telefonseelsorge crisis line is available around the clock on 0800 111 0 111 (in German). If you are younger, there is the Nummer gegen Kummer helpline on 116 111 (Monday to Saturday, 2 to 8 pm, in German). Women can reach the Violence Against Women Support Hotline around the clock on 116 016, also in many other languages. In acute danger: 110.

What legal options do creators have?

With the platform

Report illegal content through the report function. Under the EU Digital Services Act, the platform must handle it carefully and tell you its decision (Art. 16 DSA). If it rejects your report, you can lodge a free internal complaint (Art. 20 DSA). The routes are explained in Platform Not Responding to Your Report? DSA Complaints.

Criminal law

• Insult and defamation (§§ 185–187 of the German Criminal Code, StGB): mostly only prosecuted if a request for prosecution (Strafantrag) is filed, within three months of learning of the act and the offender.
• Threats (§ 241 StGB).
• Dangerous dissemination of personal data (§ 126a StGB).
• Stalking (Nachstellung, § 238 StGB): prosecuted ex officio, meaning even without a request for prosecution.

In a flood, it helps to pick the most serious cases rather than report hundreds of comments. You can file a criminal complaint (Anzeige) at any police station or through the online police station (Onlinewache) of your federal state.

The stronger protection for people in political life (§ 188 StGB) only covers people who are active in political life. For most creators it does not apply. Whether it fits politically active creators depends on the case.

Civil law

Independently of a criminal complaint, you can demand that someone stops (injunction) and deletes content, and, for serious violations of your personality rights, claim monetary compensation. An overview is in Compensation for Online Insults: Your Rights. Whether it is worth it in your case is something a law firm can assess.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to put up with hate because I am a public figure?

No. Criticism of your content comes with the territory, even sharp criticism. You do not have to accept insults, threats or false claims about you.

May I delete hate comments even though I want to report them?

Yes, once you have saved them: a screenshot with profile name, date, time and link. Where available, hiding is an alternative.

Should I publicly call out haters?

Better not. Passing screenshots with names on to your community can trigger new waves and may expose you to legal risk yourself. Report them to the platform and file a criminal complaint (Anzeige) instead.

Can I take action against thousands of comments one by one?

Realistically, no. Focus on the most serious cases. A law firm can help you choose them.

You can also report it through our form. If you say yes, your report goes automatically to a suitable cooperating law firm (Kooperationskanzlei) as soon as one is available. The legal assessment comes from the law firm, not from us. If there is no suitable firm right now, you get an email with other places to turn to straight away. Deadlines keep running: you can always file a request for prosecution (Strafantrag) with the police yourself.