While hate speech today proliferates online, the methods used by these hate groups is nothing new. Another one wondered whether "(hate speech) could lead to a big group of people leaving a certain crowd and then (hate speech would) separate these people from other people and then the young people grow up to believe that same thing and it just sort of, like, separates two peoples". If in doubt, always report and their moderators will investigate and additionally this helps to refine the reporting systems to encompass emerging trends and adapt accordingly. Our trained mentors can provide support on the issues that affect young people here. This “dangerous speech” follows specific patterns that cross societies, time … Therefore, they want "to deal with the problem by themselves". Victims of online hate speech may feel as if their human dignity was violated, no longer seeing themselves as good and appropriate, in accordance with socio-cultural norms. Hate speech online has been linked to a global increase in violence toward minorities, including mass shootings, lynchings, and ethnic cleansing. From misogyny and homophobia, to xenophobia and racism, online hate speech has become a topic of greater concern as the Internet matures, particularly as its offline impacts become more widely known. This procedure also considers what may be considered freedom of speech. There is little question among mental health professionals that bigotry can do considerable harm to the targets of the bigotry. The theory of “dangerous speech,” as developed by Susan Benesch, explains that some types of hate speech are prone to incite violence. What is more surprising is the evidence showing that those who harbor bigotry are also at risk. How can we spread kindness and compassion online. Triangulating data from primary and secondary sources, we examine five hypothesized effects: whether the laws provide a remedy to targets of hate speech, encourage more respectful speech, have an educative or symbolic effect, have a chilling effect, or create “martyrs.” How do you think the person felt who wrote the online comment? That said, responses will be mediated by past experiences, psychological and physical strength, the available sources of support, and so forth. What should you do if you see online hate speech? If you are targeted by hate speech, you will start not voicing your beliefs. It may lead to the normalisation of discrimination, intolerance and hateful attitudes and behaviours. Make yourself aware of the platforms they are using and if you are able to, spend time with them using a particular game or platform. In today’s internet society, online hate speech (hateful, racist or sexist comments) is something that our children and young people are increasingly viewing and sometimes experiencing. The Power of Love – The social and emotional effects of being in a group can be just as powerful as … The harms with which Waldron is concerned are not only, as Baker argues, bad consequences of hate speech, but are also constituted by speech. The SELMA Toolkit, to be released in May 2019, will consist in a collection of principles, methods and practices enabling educators to work on online hate speech with teenagers aged 11-16. How do you think people feel when they read the online comment? We hope their stories will inspire you to join us on the SELMA journey! Our site uses cookies to give you the best experience. everyday experiences of racism closely reflect the alleged harms of hate speech, that hate speech can be experienced as an existential attack on one’s dignity, that negative effects are enduring, and that regulatory models ought to recognise these effects. So far, it has been proven that the sender of hate speech is unstoppable and the noise source lacks efficiency, since hate speech not only persists but also is on the rise. Governments around the world are increasing legislation to combat online hate speech and social media companies are increasing protections on their platforms. This directly affects their self-esteem and self-worth and has very real impacts on their mental wellbeing with many reporting high rates of anxiety and depression. As with all challenges related to parenting a child in the digital age, parents can use this topic as a conversation starter. If they do tell you that they are worried about something, give them the time to explain and really listen. 4.2 Online Hate Speech 28 4.3 Offline Hate Speech 28 4.4 Experienced Harmful Effects of Hate Speech 29 4.4.1 Differences Between Online and Offline Hate Speech 29 4.4.2 Differences Between Moldova and Ukraine 30 5. Common Sense Media, “Where Kids Find Hate Online.”, EU Code of Conduct and Online Hate Speech, CEO of JAN Trust, Campaigner and Consultant, Law Professor and Digital Parenting Expert. The "How to make SELMA work in a school context" guide contains four pathways specifically designed for school teachers who wish to educate their pupils about online hate speech. Many young people have a clear digital identity which very often reflects the core of who they are. Online hate speech has resulted in serious offline harms. Read the full report here. If they are being targeted in an offline environment in addition to online, there can often be no escape from the abuse and this amplifies the impacts. This effect is particularly powerful online, where consequences are less apparent: the slope that leads from reading hateful content to creating it can be very slippery. Do you know how to report/block online hate speech on different platforms? What is the real-world impact of online hate speech on young people? On the one hand, as the Kom al-Raheb case shows, social media can be a catalyst for hate speech and violent attacks when left unchecked — hence the need for more effective monitoring and reporting of hate speech online. The 'generosity-erosion effect' Increase in online hate speech leads to more crimes against minorities. The more hate speech a child observes, the less upset they are about it. #StaySafeStayHome advice hub for families, Internet Matters Online hate and Trolling advice guide for parents, Online hate and trolling – a parent’s story, Things to talk to them about – conversation starters for vulnerable children, Internet Matters response to the Online Harms White Paper. It appears that teenagers are very much aware – and even concerned – of the harsh consequences online hate speech can have, both at the individual and societal levels. How did you feel? When asked about the societal consequences of hate speech, young people highlighted the fact that it can threaten freedom of expression: "freedom of expression is abolished. A case can perhaps be made that legislation on these matters is chilling and counter-productive. One could argue that the consequences of hate speech are similar in form (but sometimes not in intensity) to the effects experienced by recipients of traumatic experiences. More specifically, victims of online hate speech may show low self-esteem, sleeping disorders, increased anxiety and feelings of fear and insecurity. Being exposed to hate speech also leads young people to become less sensitive to hateful language. Some respondents also pointed to the possibility of behavioural harm, with victims possibly committing suicide or cutting themselves. We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.Change Cookie Settings, These cookies are strictly necessary to enable you to move about the site or to perform functions you have requested, Allows us to improve your experience by collecting anonymous usage data. Oct 15, 2019. People with less free will and reasoning ability are more likely to respond with hate speech, especially to targets which the media has made “acceptable” to attack. A society that does not express opinions and ideas will not progress". They can support not only in the removal of content, but in providing support in order to move forward. Hate speech, both online and offline, has “exacerbated societal and racial tensions, inciting attacks with deadly consequences around the world”, according to an open letter released on Monday by nearly two dozen independent United Nations experts. Hate speech is a perennial issue on social media (e.g., Citron, 2014). A large part of that decline can be attributed to a reduction in the percentage of students who reported hate-related words referring to gender, which decreased by more than half from 2001 to 2015 (2.8 to 1.3 percent). If this is attacked, it hits very hard at a unique part of themselves that they should rightfully be proud of. If the hate speech has directly affected the child it is important they talk through how it has made them feel and what can be done to help them deal with these feelings. Stores a unique session ID which references data held on our server about your session, such as login information, Stores the cookie preferences you select here, An anonymous unique ID assiged to your browser for Google Analytics tracking, An anonymous unique ID assiged to your browser session for Google Analytics tracking, A counter that is used to throttle the request rate to Google Analytics. Given these factors — high protection for political speech, hostility to viewpoint discrimination and great solicitude for online speech — much hate speech is protected. In other words, online hate speech receives as much protection as a hate-speech pamphlet distributed by the Ku Klux Klan. Ask them what platforms they are using and if they know how to report if anything happens. There is evidence that hate speech predicts violence, that groups more exposed to hate speech are more likely to commit suicide, and that it causes what scientists call a ‘dehumanization effect’ which makes it easier for us to justify suffering and harm caused to another human being. Additionally, online hate can create a wider climate of fear and polarisation, with social cohesion being threatened by hostility. His discussion shows this by not dwelling on the effect or impact of hate speech and by implying that anyone who does dwell on the harm that may be done by hate speech is, for that reason alone, an enemy of freedom of expression. Parents can then use the discussion as a way to express their family and cultural values, provide children with strategies to combat online hate speech as well as emphasise the importance of empathy and kindness. Sometimes it simply affects how people reveal themselves online (called benign ODE). This article has been written based on the SELMA research report "Hacking Online Hate: Building an Evidence Base for Educators", which was published on Safer Internet Day 2019. This is important for a number of reasons; firstly, the hate speech must be reported to the appropriate body. Recent years have given rise to an increased prevalence of hate speech online which, according to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, can reinforce the subordination of targeted minorities. ‘The harm is the dispelling of assurance, and the dispelling of assurance is the speech act – it is what the speaker is doing in his self-disclosure….’ (Waldron 2012, 167). At Ditch the Label, we work hard to empower young people to celebrate who they are and to understand that the issue lies solely with the person directing hate at them – and they should never have to feel that they need to change who they are. Others identified "chronic depression" and "bad schooling overall" as possible consequences. For example, one study found that invisibility, lack of eye-contact, and anonymity promote the usage of First-person words like “I” in revealing details about oneself. Any hate directed at them should be taken very seriously just as it would if it were occurring offline. In today’s internet society, online hate speech (hateful, racist or sexist comments) is something that our children and young people are increasingly viewing and sometimes experiencing. The SELMA project sits down with Professor Victoria Nash of the Oxford Internet Institute to unpack what we mean by ‘online harm’, and discuss some of the promises – and limitations – of both policy and education when it comes to dealing with online hate speech. Ditch the Label are Trusted Flaggers across all the major platforms which means that we can often get content removed quickly, even if it has already been reported to no avail. When discussing the support that victims might need, young people were able to identify possible sources of support, including parents, teachers, peers and even internet providers. Findings from Interviews 32 5.1 Online Hate Speech 32 5.1.1 Direct Online Hate Speech 32 ‘Hate speech’* is an emotive term which does not have a uniform definition under international human rights law: in general, it refers to a broad range of expression of discriminatory hatred towards people. Tackling online hate speech with young people ideally goes beyond the classroom, as part of a collaborative effort involving many different education stakeholders. Parents should also check out the Hacking Hate online toolkit produced by European Schoolnet, UK Safer Internet Centre, The Diana Award and other partners. Effects of Hate Speech on Society Ahamed Shibly Goal: To find the effect of hate speech on the society to evaluate the dark side of it and to suggest strategic ways to stop it. The Online Hate Speech Dashboard has been developed by academics with policy partners to pre-empt outbreaks of hate crime on the streets. There may be times when it may be difficult to navigate the reporting procedures or you may not be happy with the outcome. With the growth of social media, many children will, unfortunately, come across hate speech online, and we must ensure that young people are aware of what they should do if they come across online hate speech. So I think theoretically, conceptually we might imagine, quite reasonably, that there might be these other types of effects beyond civil unrest or attacks, and that might be one reason why we might like to see hate speech online removed or minimise it, or alternatively you have strategies that tackle it when we see it online to ensure that there is a positive story too. Governments around the world are increasing legislation to combat online hate speech and social media companies are increasing protections on their platforms. As young people described it, "because of that online hate, they would just be scared to, like, even express themselves", "(they) feel kind of lost, like the whole world's against (them), (they) feel like (they)'re being withdrawn… They get stuck and stagnate in their social development and develop social anxiety". The SELMA Digital Book "How SELMA is driving online change" draws upon the experiences and successes of the many people who became involved in the project. Exposure to hate speech results in empathy being replaced by intergroup contempt as a dominant response to others—it is both a motivator and a consequence of derogatory language. Online hate speech is the expression of conflicts between different groups within and across societies. They may feel lonely or isolated: one respondent from the UK explained that victims "feel left out, like they've got no friends". Young people are connected more than ever before and while this can be a huge benefit in linking them with friends, communities, loved ones and knowledge, it can, of course, be problematic in that they are exposed to an almost constant stream of information which they may not have the critical skills to filter and navigate. While risk does not automatically constitute harm, exposure to online hate does increase the likelihood of individual or societal damage, with a distinction to be made in terms of the various forms harm can take. They may feel lonely or isolated: one respondent from the UK explained that victims "feel left out, like they've got no friends". More specifically, victims of online hate speech may show low self-esteem, sleeping disorders, increased anxiety and feelings of fear and insecurity. Online Hateful Speech and Its Effects.Online hateful speech differsfromitsofflinecounterpartinvariousways,asaconsequence of affordances of online platforms, such as anonymity, mobility, ephemerality, size of audience, and the ease of access. The fact that victims of online hate speech may develop social anxiety and feel the need to isolate themselves, was brought up by many interviewees: "if someone's sitting behind a screen, they probably feel better sitting at home writing something, and the one who's the victim probably also keeps a low profile, and I think it could end up like that, more and more people sitting at home by themselves". This phenomenon of hate speech in social media is an insanity gaining critical mass much like the hundredth monkey effect as it spreads through and damages our culture. The toolkit looks at how young people can combat online hate and how to effect change in our communities. We propose that frequent exposure to hate speech has severe effects on emotional, behavioral, and normative levels. "You're saying to someone hate and that could later lead to like depression and like suicidal thoughts.". The full report provides a more detailed analysis of the views of young people, with guidance for educators and professional on how to respond to this. According to another youngster , haters "target your sensitivities and insult you and you feel bad. A 2016 study by the Pew Research Center found that a majority of Americans believe the presence of trolling, harassment and hate speech in online discourse will either get worse or not improve (Rainie, Anderson, & Albright, 2017). We always recommend having open and honest conversations with young people about their online lives and experiences just as they do their lives at school or college. One young person admitted being afraid that "we‘ll lose respect for one another, that we don't talk in a normal way any longer but more extreme". 10 The online environment is rife with hateful speech of every variety, available from anywhere through the powerful mobile devices carried around in students’ pockets and pulled out in nearly any free moment. If they witness a wider group of people they relate to being attacked, is it any wonder they can begin to feel negatively towards that characteristic? In the end you end up with more insecurities and you will turn more reserved, not so social, and you will have that fear of being insulted". While these are commendable actions, parents may be called upon today to support their children until online hate speech is eradicated. Explicit biasrefers to consciously held prejudice that is sometimes overtly expressed; implicit bias is subconscious and detec… Drawing upon the achievements of the SELMA project, participants discussed how to tackle the problem of online hate speech through education and how to empower young people to become agents of change. Find out more information here. The negative effects of online disinhibition like hate-speech are often called toxic disinhibition. The results of the SELMA focus groups reflected the same situation, with respondents being particularly concerned about younger children in this regard: "maybe one day you get the feeling hate is normal and swearwords become normal as they're used all of the time… I'm not sure if young children know what it means but they use really bad expressions, they learn it on the internet with all the hate they see". The focus groups carried out in the framework of the SELMA research programme provide an interesting insight into how young people see  the online hate speech phenomenon. In general terms, online hate speech may cause direct and indirect effects on individuals' psychological wellbeing, short and long term, with the amount of damage significantly bigger in case of victimisation, compared to mere witnessing. As hate speech and trolling become more common online, our experts provide advice on how parents can play a role in supporting young people on this issue. TikTok joins EU code of conduct on hate speech. ‘Hate speech’ and its consequences, including violence and discrimination, If you are unable to get harassing, abusive or hate content removed then you can contact us here. Nowadays, the risk for young people to encounter, in one way or another, hate speech online is substantial. See more articles and resources to help children stay safe online. Another online forum where we find violent and aggressive messages against individuals and groups is that of hate sites. The proliferation of hate speech online is another reason to reconsider the way a campus handles this type of expression. Remind them that they are not at fault. Jun 22, 2020. I guess you become more vulnerable". At the same time, they also acknowledged that victims are likely to hesitate to ask for help since "they are afraid that the problem will be dismissed" or "they would not be understood". Apart from its impact on individual wellbeing, one should also factor in how online hate speech has a wider societal cost. In fact, this approach very often removes any pressure to share with you any concerns they might have. Online hate speech is a vivid example of how the Internet brings both opportunities and challenges regarding the freedom of expression and speech while also defending human dignity. 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