Nearly half of likely U.S. voters say the federal government should take steps to curb “hate speech” on the internet, according to a new Rasmussen Report survey, showing that support for such measures has increased significantly over the past four years.
A national telephone and online survey found that 49% of likely voters support federal action to curb online hate speech, up from 41% in 2022. 29% opposed such measures and 22% said they were unsure.
Rasmussen cited the Cambridge Dictionary’s definition of hate speech as “speech in public that expresses hatred or encourages violence against individuals or groups on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc.”
The survey also found that 79% of voters consider online hate speech to be a serious problem, with 50% saying it is a “very serious” problem. This is up from 70% who considered online hate speech to be serious four years ago. 15% said they did not think it was a serious problem.
This issue shows clear partisan differences. Sixty-seven percent of Democrats say online hate speech is a very serious problem, compared to 40% of Republicans and 40% of non-major party voters.
Democrats were also more likely to support the federal action. Sixty-two percent of Democratic voters said the federal government should act to curb online hate speech, compared to 44% of Republican voters and 40% of independent voters.
The poll found that 77% of voters believe online hate speech contributes to violence against women and minorities, including 46% who said it contributed “a lot.” 15% said they did not think online hate speech contributed to such violence.
There were also significant gender differences in the results. Fifty-seven percent of female voters say online hate speech is a very serious problem, compared to 42% of men. Women are also more likely to support federal action, with 55% supporting government efforts to curb online hate speech, compared to 41% of men.
Black voters were more likely than other racial groups to view online hate speech as a very serious problem and support government action. Rasmussen found that 62% of black voters say the problem is very serious, compared to 48% of white voters, 42% of Hispanic voters and 50% of other minority voters.
Older voters were most likely to think that online hate speech is a very serious problem and that it contributes significantly to violence against women and minorities. A majority of voters with annual incomes of less than $50,000 also said the federal government should take steps to curb online hate speech.
The survey also revealed that there will be a divide in opinion leading up to the 2024 presidential vote. Among voters who supported Kamala Harris, 57% supported federal action to curb hate speech on the internet. Among voters who supported Donald Trump, 40% supported such action.
The survey of 1,073 likely U.S. voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on May 21, 2026, and May 24-25, 2026. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points, and the confidence level was 95%.
