/authors/pauras-mangesh-meher/ Pauras Mangesh Meher Source Themes Academic (https://sourcethemes.com/academic/)en-us©2019Sat, 03 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /publication/saha2022pnas/ Sat, 03 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /publication/saha2022pnas/ <h3 id="significance">Significance</h3> <p>Existential fear has always been a concern across human history and even transcends to the rest of the animal world. This fear is so deeply ingrained that even the slightest “knock” to it could spark a violent conflict among different groups. Here, we demonstrate how social media platforms are used to extensively mediate elements of existential fear as fear speech posts. Their nontoxic and argumentative nature makes them appealing to even benign users who in turn contribute to their wide prevalence by resharing, liking, and replying to them. Remarkably, this prevalence is far stronger than the more well-known hate speech posts. Our work necessitates consolidated moderation efforts and awareness campaigns to mitigate the harmful effects of fear speech.</p> <h3 id="main-contributions">Main contributions</h3> <p>Coming soon</p> <h3 id="limitations">Limitations</h3> <p>Coming soon</p> <h3 id="future-directions">Future Directions</h3> <p>Coming soon</p>