Why is it that when vegans experience online harassment, abuse, or intimidation, the response is so often a shrug? While growing awareness exists around online harm directed at women, minority groups, and public figures, hostility towards vegans is frequently dismissed as something they should simply expect.

This article explores the psychological and social mechanisms that normalise anti-vegan hostility online, from victim-blaming and moral disengagement to the perception that those who challenge dominant social norms somehow deserve the backlash they receive. The result is a troubling double standard: behaviour recognised as harmful in other contexts is often minimised, justified, or even celebrated when directed at vegans.