We're looking for a external quantitative researcher for our next community-led audit

How does hate speech spread on social media, and what role do social media platforms’ algorithms play? We're looking for an external researcher to help us find out.

Eticas Foundation is starting a new community-led audit with the Institut de les Desigualtats, a Barcelona-based NGO working on geographic, socioeconomic and gender inequality. Together, we are studying how hate speech spreads and is amplified on TikTok and X. The audit asks one central question: are human and algorithmic hate speech dynamics similar, different, or mutually dependent?

Three cases, chosen by our community partner

In keeping with our community-led approach, our partner chose the three most relevant cases for measuring when hate speech metastasized online:

• Southport (UK, 2024)

• Ceuta (2026)

• "Gender ideology" ("ideologia de gènere"), a term that circulates internationally without a single triggering event

The research team led by Miquel Ramos at the Institut de les Desigualtats will provide the qualitative reading of each case: key actors, narratives and counter-narratives, hashtags and slogans in each language, and a chronology of events. Eticas Foundation leads the quantitative side. That means mapping who creates, coordinates and amplifies content, tracing how it spreads, and examining what platform recommender systems appear to do with it.

The role

We are looking for an external researcher to deliver the quantitative analysis. That covers the X datasets, network and cascade analysis across TikTok and X, a validated approach to classifying stance and framing, and a public, reproducible GitHub repository with the final comparative results.

We welcome applicants from social science, computational social science and data science backgrounds. Because our partner works in Catalan and Spanish, you'll need to be comfortable reading at least one of those languages.

Why this matters

Most research on online hate speech looks either at the people behind it or at the platforms that carry it. This audit puts both side by side, with the qualitative account and the quantitative evidence checked against each other. Its findings will go back to the community for validation and discussion, so the people most affected shape what the evidence means.

The work builds on our Guide to Community-Led AI Audits, which draws on nearly a decade of audits carried out with affected communities.

How to apply

Read the full job description in English or Spanish. To apply, send your CV and an example of social media network analysis you’ve done to the Eticas Foundation Lead alexandra.magaard@eticas.ai as soon as possible. We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis and hope to secure a consultant by the first week of October.

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.