The influence of sectarian and tribal discourse in newspapers readers’ online comments about freedom of expression, censorship and national unity in Kuwait

• The sectarian and tribal hateful online newspapers readers’ comments are analyzed.
• Dominant groups describe the minority as disloyal to Kuwait and backward.
• Non-readers of the comments favor censoring them.
• Readers of sectarian comments believe they damage Kuwait’s national unity.
• Levels of hate speech, high or low, determine feelings toward it.

This study analyzes strands of sectarian and tribal discourse in newspapers readers’ online comments (NROCs) and their impact on attitudes to freedom of expression, censorship and national unity in Kuwait. It finds that minority, Shiite, and the lower ranked social group, Bedouins, are identified as disloyal to Kuwait, backward and uncivilized in the NROCs. The outcomes of an experiment that engage 715 subjects indicate that the non-readers of the sectarian and tribal comments are in favor of censoring NROCs. Also, readers of sectarian NROCs are more likely to declare that the sectarian comments damage Kuwait’s national unity. The findings are discussed in the light of the negative social effects of hateful online speech and the role that editors of NROCs need to assume in order to counter such speech.