STARTING POINTS FOR COMBATING HATE SPEECH ONLINE Young People Combating Hate Speech Online is a project of the Speech Online Hate Combating for Starting Points Council of Europe’s youth sector running between 2012 and 2015. The project aims to combat racism and discrimination in their online expression of hate speech by equipping young people and youth organisations with the competences necessary to recognize and act against such human rights violations. Central to the project is a European youth media campaign which will be designed and implemented with the agency of young people and youth organisations. As a preparation for the project, the Council of Europe’s Youth Department commissioned three “mapping” studies about the realities of hate speech and young people and projects and campaigns about it. These studies are published here as a resource for the activists, youth leaders, researchers, partners and decision makers associated to the project and the online campaign. They are truly a starting points: more research is needed, both on the legal and policy implications of hate speech online as on its impact and relation with young people. Three studies about online hate speech and ways Prems 81714 Prems to address it www.nohatespeechmovement.org ENG The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading Dr Gavan Titley human rights organisation. It comprises 47 member states, Ellie Keen 28 of which are members of the European Union. László Földi All Council of Europe member states have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The European Court of Human Rights oversees the implementation of the Convention in the member states. STARTING POINTS FOR COMBATING HATE SPEECH ONLINE Three studies about online hate speech and ways to address it By Dr Gavan Titley, Ellie Keen and László Földi Council of Europe,Youth Department The opinions expressed in this work are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe. All requests concerning the reproduction or translation of all or part of this document should be addressed to the Directorate of Communication (F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex or [email protected]). All other correspondence concerning this document should be addressed to the European Youth Centre). Cover photo: © Cristina Mancigotti Cover and layout: Documents and publications production Department (SPDP), Council of Europe © Council of Europe, October 2014 Printed at the Council of Europe Contents INTRODUCTION 5 HATE SPEECH ONLINE: CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE PROPOSED CAMPAIGN 7 Introduction 7 Hate speech: a contested concept 9 Hate speech online 17 Case study: NoRa – No Racism campaign of the Pelastakaa Lapset ry 20 MAPPING STUDY ON PROJECTS AGAINST HATE SPEECH ONLINE 23 Executive summary 23 Definitions 25 Cyberhate and freedom of expression 27 The extent of the problem 28 Forms and methods 33 Confronting cyberhate: key strategies 37 MAPPING STUDY ON CAMPAIGNS AGAINST HATE SPEECH ONLINE 55 Hate speech in general 55 Overview of the latest studies on hate speech online 57 Analysis of on-going campaigns against hate speech online 63 Recommendations for the project Young People Combating Hate Speech Online 79 Technical considerations for online campaigns 82 Recommendations for the online campaign 84 Timeline 89 References 90 ► Page 3 Introduction oung People Combating Hate Speech Online is a Council of Europe youth sector project designed Y to combat racism and discrimination by tackling the online expression of hate speech. The project, to The campaign message is positive and pro-active; run from 2012 to 2014, is equipping young people it is a campaign for freedom of expression online. It and youth organisations with the competences they also takes a clear stance against all forms of racism need to identify and challenge online hate speech and discrimination online. Young people from groups whenever and wherever they come across it. including victims of online hate speech – such as refugees and asylum-seekers, Muslims, LGBT and It was devised by youth leaders on the Council of Roma – will play an important role in the campaign. Europe’s Advisory Council on Youth and endorsed by the Organisation’s Joint Council on Youth – a unique While it is relatively common in mainstream society to structure where youth leaders and government rep- condemn hate speech, including online hate speech, resentatives make decisions side by side on youth closer study suggests that this mainstream consensus policy, programmes and priorities. is not well implemented. Starting with the definition of hate speech itself and the issue of striking a balance The project was conceived in response to and as a between freedom of speech, freedom from hatred or bulwark against the worrying rise of hate speech fear and the protection of children and young people, online. Central to the project’s philosophy is the idea there is currently a lack of clarity on how mainstream that online public space should be subject to the same opposition to hate speech can be put into practice. expectations regarding human rights as physical public space; human rights apply online just as they In preparation for the project, the Council of Europe’s apply to the rest of society. Youth Department commissioned three “mapping” studies about the realities of hate speech in relation The project is mobilising those involved at European to young people and the existing projects and cam- and national level through a variety of activities, paigns on the subject. They are published in this book including: training courses, the development of edu- as resources for the activists, youth leaders, research- cational materials, national seminars and conferences. ers, partners and decision-makers associated with the Central to the project is the European online youth project and for the online campaign at national and campaign – the No Hate Speech Movement (www. European level. nohatespeechmovement.org) – which young people However, these studies are only a starting point. and youth organisations have both set up and imple- Experts agree that more research is needed, both on mented through national campaigns and initiatives the legal and policy implications of hate speech online which aim to be as close to young people as possible. and on its impact and relation to young people. We Activities at national level are bringing together inter- expect that more research will be carried out through ested organisations and individuals to make national the project and that the online youth campaign will authorities and others aware of the need to take action. also contribute to it. ► Page 5 The three sections cover the following topics: ■ Dr Gavan Titley reflects on ■ Ellie Keen’s mapping ■ László Földi’s study on online the realities of hate speech today, study on projects against hate campaigns against hate speech how it is being “normalised” and speech online (for the British investigates existing online cam- defended through recourse to free- Institute of Human Rights) looks paigns against online hate speech, dom of expression. He goes further at a number of existing initiatives identifying valuable experiences for to analyse hate speech online and to address the problem of hate the European and national partners concludes with an example of anti- speech online and, drawing from of the Council of Europe’s online hate speech activists fighting rac- these, offers suggestions for the media campaign. Despite the fact ism online through youth work. By implementation of the Council of that the Council of Europe’s youth questioning hate speech from the Europe’s project. The study pro- sector and its governmental and perspective of racist discourses, he vides a comprehensive overview non-governmental partners have invites us to see hate speech at part of the different forms of online considerable campaigning experi- of a continuum of racist ideologies hate speech and existing initia- ence – especially through the All and shows us how they are perme- tives. The recommendations are Different – All Equal campaigns – the ating our societies. geared towards defining strate- organisation has very little experi- gies and approaches to address ence of running online campaigns. different forms of hate speech This study makes interesting pro- through a variety of means. posals regarding what the Council of Europe can learn from others to help ensure its project succeeds. Starting Points for Combating Hate Speech Online ► Page 6 Hate speech Online: considerations for the proposed campaign Dr Gavan Titley Introduction n an exchange with the philosophers Talal Asad and Writing about young people is a field frequently beset Mahmood Saba, considering the issues raised by by polarizing stereotypes; angels or devils, ‘change I what has become known as the Danish Cartoons agents’ or layabouts, in need of protection and/or Controversy, Judith Butler asks: ‘Is the freedom in discipline. Considerations of racism are often content free speech the same as the freedom to be protected to locate it at the political extremes, or in the igno- from violence, or are these two difference valences rance of pathological individuals. Thinking about the of freedom? Under what conditions does freedom of internet remains overly-structured by either/or ideas of speech become freedom to hate?’1 While the first ques- romantic transformation or dystopian collapse. When tion is of integral importance to these reflections, the you combine these three fields of inquiry, there is obvi- second question is one that is perhaps immediately ous potential for analysis to regard the issues at hand recognizable to youth workers across Europe. The as located at the margins of European democracy. conditions Butler references have many aspects and However hate speech online is not marginal, and the dimensions, prime among them the resurgent and edges of this political map are not immediately obvi- multivalent racisms that have achieved new forms ous.