There is a thin line between freedom of speech and hate speech. Freedom of speech is one of the fundamental human right in a democratic society. It applies to journalists and media, but also to all other participants in communication processes. With the development of the Internet and the interaction that this development has brought, and with the involvement of the broad masses in communication processes, the problem of hate speech has become even greater. Internet portals allow readers to leave posts under media reports, most often through social networks, so user posts can often contain calls for violence and hatred towards minority and vulnerable groups, insults, simplicity, swearing and intolerance. Hate speech can be used to commit crimes and it can have negative consequences for those to whom it is directed. Hate speech is a social problem that is being talked about more and more, but there is still no solution that will erase hate speech while preserving the human right to freedom of expression. This paper brings research conducted in May 2021 on four Croatian Internet portals. Research has shown that hate speech is present in readers' posts and is most often directed to people of other nationalities, religions and sexual orientation.