A British MP cut down in his constituencyAn area whose voters elect a person to represent them. . A new documentary investigating online hatred against women. Conspiracy theorists assaulting scientists across the world. Islamic fundamentalismA movement that aims to return to the founding scriptures of Islam, often by imposing puritanical moral codes and brutal punishments. on the rise. The far rightA range of ideologies that emphasise social order, racial purity, and the elimination of opponents. rising in Europe and the USA.

If there is one thread running through the news this morning, it is hatred: hatred of women, hatred of difference, hatred of the unknown. And those in the firing line of this hate are being flooded with death threatsAny threat to kill another person or group of people. The aim is sometimes to intimidate the recipient..

No one knows how many are made. In England and Wales alone, police recorded more than 42,000 death threats in 2020-21. 

This is partly to do with the growth of conspiracy theoriesTheories that explain world events by blaming shady groups of powerful people operating in secret. Some conspiracy theories have a basis in fact, but many more of them are completely invented. What is more, they often play on dangerous prejudices such as antisemitism. It's worth being especially cautious and critical when you come across accounts that ascribe enormous agency to small and secretive groups. about Covid-19. One survey just this month found that 15% of scientists who had commented publicly on Covid received death threats.

This seems to clash with what we understand about humanity. We do not like to think that the average person is so full of hate.

One problem is the anonymity of social media. It helps to strip the human element out of communication. 

How can we stop the hate? In the aftermath of David AmessA Conservative MP who represented his Essex constituency of Southend West for 38 years, from 1983 until his death on Friday.'s murder, his family called upon others to "set aside their differences and show kindness and love to all".

Yes, say some. In the end, people do not want to hate each other. Right now they are trapped in a social media-fuelled cycle of abuse and threats. But people will climb out of the darkness and learn to care for each other again.

No, say others. Every year, hatred is further entrenched. InequalityWhen money and opportunities are not shared equally between different groups in society., bigotryPrejudice towards a certain group, and an unwillingness to change your mind. , resentment and conspiracies are all here to stay. For as long as social media companies can keep milking them for profit, they will only get worse.