Online Module: How to counter hate speech and manage an online community

The rise of hate speech in recent years has become a dangerous trend in our society. It poses challenges both to the media professionals and our democratic values in society. Media have a vital role to play in challenging hostility and prejudice, encouraging social solidarity and helping to promote understanding and empathy with others.

Media attention is often focused on the critical aspects of the presence of migrants and refugees and newspapers do not offer a correct image about migration phenomena: violent language and manipulated news to misrepresent migrants and other minorities reinforce stereotypes and fuel hatred against them. Media must show responsibility and actively work against hate speech, promoting a paradigm shift through the building of a counter-narrative.

This training module is based on the workshop realised in Rome on 20-21 November 2017 and organised by COSPE in cooperation with Carta di Roma Association and National Federation of the Italian Press (FNSI), within the Media against Hate project. The workshop consisted of a roundtable on hate speech, migration and journalism, with speakers from Carta di Roma, Ethical Journalism Network, Article 19, FNSI, and Facebook, and a three sessions workshop FNSI, and Facebook, and a three sessions workshop on specific topics. The event gathered 25 participants from various EU countries. It is based on the trainings material provided by Tom Law (Ethical Journalism Network), Matteo Moretti (Dataninja – University of Bozen – Bolzano) and Valentina Vellucci (Magilla Guerrilla) and elaborated by COSPE.