Disinhibited abuse of othered communities by second-screening audiences

Second-screening and live-tweeting alongside broadcast television generates new concerns with respect to online abuse. We present an investigation into the nature of Twitter-facilitated second-screening posts relating to Thelma's Gypsy Girls, one of a series of controversial documentary programmes portraying the Irish Traveller community that have recently been aired by the UK publicservice television broadcaster Channel 4. Sentiment analysis highlighted the general negativity of these posts whilst a detailed thematic inquiry revealed the often abusive and aggressive messages aimed directly at the community and individuals portrayed in the broadcast material. We discuss why users might be susceptible to exhibiting these behaviours, and the implications for the broadcast industry, and social TV designers and developers.