Race and gender intertwined: why intersecting identities matter for perceptions of incivility and content moderation on social media.

The article investigates how the intersecting race and gender identities of both social media counterspeech authors and viewers influence perceptions of incivility and intentions to report content. Through two online experiments guided by the Critical Media Effects framework—which integrates concepts of power and intersectionality—the studies reveal that White men are most likely to perceive counterspeech opposing ignorance about White privilege as uncivil and to flag it for removal, especially when the counterspeech is authored by Black women. This pattern persists regardless of the tone of the message, indicating that Black women face uniquely severe scrutiny due to intertwined racism and sexism (misogynoir) in digital spaces. The findings highlight the need for social media platforms to consider these power dynamics in content moderation policies to prevent disproportionate silencing of marginalized voices in discussions about social justice.