Witnessing Online Hate: What You Can Do to Help

You're scrolling through comments or your class chat and see someone being torn apart. Many people look away because they don't know what to do, or because they're afraid of becoming the next target. If you are witnessing online hate, there is a lot you can do as a bystander: show the person affected that they are not alone, report content and secure evidence without spreading the hate any further. This guide shows you how.

Is someone threatening violence or saying they want to harm themselves? Call 110 or 112. The Telefonseelsorge (crisis line) is available around the clock on 0800 111 0 111, and Nummer gegen Kummer (helpline for children and young people) on 116 111, Monday to Saturday from 2 pm to 8 pm. Both are in German.

What can you do when you witness online hate?

1. Message the person affected. Privately and briefly, for example: “I saw that. It's not okay. Do you need anything?”
2. Secure what you see: screenshot, date, link. But only for the person affected or the police.
3. Report the content to the platform.
4. Don't share anything, neither in groups nor in stories.
5. Get support when it gets serious: parents, teachers, school social workers, the police.

How can you support the person affected?

It can mean a lot to someone affected when one person speaks up while everyone else stays silent.

• Ask what they need instead of deciding for them. Some want to talk, some want help reporting, some just want peace for now.
• Take them seriously. Don't play it down, and don't ask what they did to deserve it.
• Offer concrete help: collecting screenshots, reporting together, going to a trusted adult together.
• Stay in touch. Check in again after a few days.
• Get help immediately if you are worried they might harm themselves, even if they asked you to keep it secret.

How do you report online hate as a witness?

You don't have to be affected yourself to report. Under the EU Digital Services Act, platforms must allow individuals and organisations to report illegal content (Art. 16 DSA). That includes you as a witness. Look for “Report” next to the comment, post or profile, often behind three dots. The labels sometimes change. Report each piece of content separately and choose a fitting reason.

The platform must tell you its decision. If you disagree, you can challenge it through the internal complaint system (Art. 20 DSA). What else platforms have to do is explained in Digital Services Act: What Platforms Must Do About Online Hate.

Can you report a crime on someone else's behalf?

Yes. You can file a criminal complaint (Anzeige) with the police even if you are not affected yourself. For offences prosecuted ex officio, the police then investigate on their own, for example incitement to hatred (Volksverhetzung, Section 130 of the Criminal Code, StGB), threats (Section 241 StGB) or stalking (Section 238 StGB).

Insult, defamation and malicious defamation are different: they are usually only prosecuted if the injured person files a request for prosecution (Strafantrag, Sections 77 and 194 StGB). For minors, their parents file it. So you cannot file a Strafantrag for someone else. What you saw can still matter, because you can give evidence as a witness. How to report online is explained in Report a Crime to the Police Online.

How do you secure evidence without spreading the hate?

A screenshot is quickly taken and quickly forwarded. That is exactly the problem: every share puts the hate in front of new eyes. Anyone who passes on a damaging claim about someone can, in some cases, commit an offence themselves. Sections 186 and 187 StGB explicitly cover spreading such claims, not just making them.

• Take screenshots with date, time, profile name and link.
• Only give them to the person affected, their parents or the police. Ask the person affected first if you can.
• Don't post them publicly, not even to show outrage, and don't send them to groups.
• If you want to save a chat, export it only without media.

Nude images or sexual recordings: don't take screenshots and don't forward anything, not even to help. If they show someone under 18, even saving or forwarding them can be an offence under Sections 184b and 184c StGB. Just note where you saw it (link, platform, time), tell the person affected if you can, and contact the police.

Should you speak up publicly?

Counter speech can show that the hate does not speak for everyone. But your safety comes first. If you speak up, stay factual and don't insult the attacker. You can also like supportive comments or write something kind to the person affected instead of arguing with the attackers. More in Counter Speech Online: How to Respond to Hate Safely.

When should you involve adults?

If it happens in a class chat, the school is a place to turn to: the class teacher, a trusted teacher or the school social worker. With threats, blackmail, nude images or signs that someone wants to harm themselves, bring in an adult straight away. How to deal with bullying in group chats is explained in Bullying in WhatsApp Groups: What You Can Do Now. At juuuport.de, young people advise other young people online, in German. Parents can call the parents' helpline (Elterntelefon) on 0800 111 0 550, Mon, Wed, Fri 9 am to 5 pm, Tue, Thu 9 am to 7 pm.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to report online hate to the police when I see it?

There is no general duty for private individuals in Germany to report crimes that have already been committed. Reporting is voluntary.

Will the person find out that I reported them?

Under the DSA, the platform only names you in its statement of reasons to the reported person if that is strictly necessary (Art. 17 DSA). If you report to the police, your name may appear in the investigation file.

Can I send screenshots to a group so everyone knows?

Don't. You would be spreading the hate further and could, in some cases, commit an offence yourself. Only give evidence to the person affected, their parents or the police.

Can I report someone else's case to Hass-Hetze?

The report form is for the person affected themselves. They should send the report, because in doing so they consent to their own data being passed on. If they are under 16, they report together with a parent. You can encourage them and help them report, report the content to the platform and file a criminal complaint (Anzeige) yourself.

Report your case

The report form is for the person affected themselves. If they are under 16, they report together with a parent. As a witness, you can encourage the person affected and help them report, report the content to the platform and file a criminal complaint (Anzeige) yourself. But the report to Hass-Hetze should be sent by the person affected, because in doing so they consent to their own data being passed on.

If you are affected yourself, you can report it through our form. A pseudonym is fine. 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.