Hate speech is a research subject that has so far been neglected in media studies, lacking both a sufficient definition and a coherent theoretical foundation. This book fills that gap and analyzes, through the controversies surrounding Oriana Fallaci and Thilo Sarrazin, how mass media become a stage for hate speech and how argumentative processes are influenced in this context. The study in leading quality newspapers from Germany, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, and the USA shows that hate speech in mass media is a rational phenomenon, and engaging in an argumentative discourse with the discriminatory messages enhances their discourse quality and legitimizes them communicatively. The achievement of hate speakers is not to address something previously unspoken or unspeakable or to create a corresponding consensus.