tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/hate-36349/articlesHate – The Conversation2023-10-25T19:10:24Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2156012023-10-25T19:10:24Z2023-10-25T19:10:24ZLegal in one state, a crime in another: laws banning hate symbols are a mixed bag<p>Queensland has now joined several other states in <a href="https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/95214">outlawing extremist hate symbols</a>. </p>
<p>Far-right and neo-Nazi groups pose a significant ongoing threat to national security, in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-24/concerns-of-rise-in-right-wing-extremist-groups-in-australia/102388498">Australia</a> and <a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/understanding-global-right-wing-extremism">globally</a>. It is crucial to counter their hateful ideology, which has no place in Australian society.</p>
<p>However, banning specific symbols and gestures is a tricky thing to do. </p>
<p>So with each state going its own way, how are these laws working together? And importantly, how will we know if they’re effective?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/would-a-law-banning-the-nazi-salute-be-effective-or-enforceable-198143">Would a law banning the Nazi salute be effective – or enforceable?</a>
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<h2>What are the laws across the country?</h2>
<p>Over the last 16 months, Victoria, NSW and Tasmania have enacted laws banning the public display of Nazi symbols and salutes. Victoria was the first; it chose initially to <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/nazi-hate-symbols-now-banned-victoria">ban only the Nazi Swastika </a>. </p>
<p>Last week, it expanded this to include <a href="https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/bills/summary-offences-amendment-nazi-salute-prohibition-bill-2023">any symbols used by the Nazi party</a>, including paramilitary arms like the SS.</p>
<p><a href="https://dcj.nsw.gov.au/news-and-media/media-releases-archive/2022/public-display-of-nazi-symbols-banned-in-nsw-1.html">New South Wales</a> and
<a href="https://www.premier.tas.gov.au/site_resources_2015/additional_releases/nazi-symbols-and-salutes-now-prohibited-in-tasmania">Tasmania</a> ban “Nazi symbols”, which is likely broader than the Victorian law. The courts will have a bigger say in whether something qualifies as one. </p>
<p>This should be simple enough for the most recognisable, such as the Swastika or Schutzstaffel (SS), but the question will be trickier if the law is enforced more broadly.</p>
<p>For example, neo-Nazi groups often use numbers like 14 (to indicate a 14-word white supremacist slogan) or 88 for “Heil Hitler” (because H is the 8th letter of the alphabet). The Anti-Defamation League maintains a large <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbols/search">database</a> of these sorts of hate symbols. </p>
<p>It is unclear which could provide the basis for a charge under NSW and Tasmanian law.</p>
<p>In Tasmania, the same <a href="https://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0033/68766/2_of_2023.pdf">law bans Nazi gestures</a>. That was the first Australian law to criminalise the Sieg Heil salute, followed by <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-21/victoria-police-nazi-salute-offence-new-laws/103005966">Victoria</a>. </p>
<p>Neo-Nazi groups use the salute in public places to intimidate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/would-a-law-banning-the-nazi-salute-be-effective-or-enforceable-198143">spread fear</a>, raise their profile and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/27/australia-nationwide-ban-nazi-salute-insignia-would-help-prevent-far-right-radicalisation-asio-intelligence-agency-says">recruit new members</a>. </p>
<p>These laws all target public displays of Nazi ideology. This would include, for example, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/19/police-seize-neo-nazi-paraphernalia-raids-south-east-queensland">hanging a Nazi flag from a bridge</a>, or waving Swastika signs at a neo-Nazi rally, but not <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/this-can-t-stand-hateful-neo-nazi-messages-left-in-brisbane-letterboxes-20230110-p5cbho.html">letterbox drops</a> or possessing Nazi paraphernalia at home.</p>
<p>All the laws include exemptions where symbols are displayed for legitimate <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/amid-australian-ban-on-nazi-symbols-asian-faith-groups-seek-to-reclaim-the-swastika-from-its-nazi-association/kiq813hhl">religious</a>, artistic, legal, historical, or educational purposes.</p>
<p>The federal government has also put forward its own <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r7048">national ban laws</a>, but those are yet to pass parliament.</p>
<h2>How do Queensland’s laws compare?</h2>
<p>In two key ways, Queensland’s laws take a broader approach.</p>
<p>First, the <a href="https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tp/2023/5723T390-BC17.pdf">laws do not list any prohibited symbols</a>. In fact, they do not mention anything about the Nazi party or its symbols. Instead, a list will be made and updated in regulations.</p>
<p>This will, in theory, allow the Queensland government to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-12/qld-hate-symbols-laws-explainer/102965556">adapt to new hate symbols</a> as the need arises. But it’s unusual to give the executive so much power in determining the scope of a crime.</p>
<p>No one knows, at this point, what the laws will actually ban. It is a crucial aspect of the <a href="https://www.ruleoflaw.org.au/what-is-the-rule-of-law/">rule of law</a> that laws state clearly when conduct is a crime. </p>
<p>To ban a symbol or gesture, the Attorney-General must first consult with the chair of the Crime and Corruption Commission and the Human Rights and police commissioners. </p>
<p>She can recommend a symbol be listed if she is satisfied that it is <a href="https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tp/2023/5723T390-BC17.pdf">“widely known”</a> to represent an ideology of “extreme prejudice”. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/does-australia-need-new-laws-to-combat-right-wing-extremism-196219">Does Australia need new laws to combat right-wing extremism?</a>
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<p>Given the <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbols/search">large numbers of hate symbols</a> used by extremist groups, with varying degrees of public knowledge about them, seeking clear advice on this question could prove difficult. </p>
<p>Second, Queensland’s approach is not limited to public displays. It includes publishing and public distribution. The main question is whether a member of the public might reasonably feel menaced, harassed or offended. </p>
<p>This will give law enforcement tools to address a wider range of behaviours, such as handing out neo-Nazi flyers in public, but it raises some difficult questions. </p>
<p>It is not clear, for example, whether publication would include posting on social media, or whether public distribution would include <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/this-can-t-stand-hateful-neo-nazi-messages-left-in-brisbane-letterboxes-20230110-p5cbho.html">letterbox drops</a>, as the content cannot be seen from a public place.</p>
<p>Whether members of the community might feel menaced, harassed or offended will be clear where a group uses recognisable Nazi symbols, hate speech and physical intimidation in public spaces. But it will be a trickier question elsewhere. </p>
<p>For example, a lot of far-right content online is more subtle, spreading effectively through <a href="https://gnet-research.org/2023/07/28/schrodingers-joke-the-weaponisation-of-irony-and-humour-in-the-alt-right/">memes and humour</a>.</p>
<h2>How consistent are the laws?</h2>
<p>Victoria, Tasmania and NSW’s laws are broadly consistent, with Queensland as a clear outlier. </p>
<p>However, there are key differences.</p>
<p>For example, it will now be an offence to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/16/queensland-to-ban-nazi-swastika-tattoos-as-part-of-crackdown-on-hate-symbols">display a Nazi tattoo</a> in Queensland and NSW, but not in <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/soa1966189/s41k.html">Victoria</a> and <a href="https://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0033/68766/2_of_2023.pdf">Tasmania</a>.</p>
<p>The penalties also vary significantly, ranging from three months imprisonment in Tasmania (or six months for a repeat offence in a short time), to six months in Queensland, to 12 months in NSW and Victoria.</p>
<p>These inconsistencies are not necessarily a bad thing. </p>
<p>One of the benefits of a federal system is that states can create different laws and later fall in line if best practice emerges. </p>
<p>But it does suggest a degree of experimentation, with no consensus on the most effective approach.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/far-right-groups-have-used-covid-to-expand-their-footprint-in-australia-here-are-the-ones-you-need-to-know-about-151203">Far-right groups have used COVID to expand their footprint in Australia. Here are the ones you need to know about</a>
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<h2>How will we know if the laws are effective?</h2>
<p>In any state, neo-Nazi groups may simply <a href="https://theconversation.com/would-a-law-banning-the-nazi-salute-be-effective-or-enforceable-198143">avoid prosecution</a> under these laws by adapting the symbols, slogans and gestures they use.</p>
<p>For example, they already use the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/03/ok-sign-gesture-emoji-rightwing-alt-right">“OK” hand symbol to indicate white power</a>. It would be difficult, even under Queensland’s approach, to ban this otherwise mundane gesture.</p>
<p>However, if the groups are prevented from using their most recognisable and intimidating symbols, it will rob them of key recruitment tools and reduce their ability to spread fear and hatred.</p>
<p>A group of white supremacists using the OK hand symbol and signs saying 14 and 88 is still intimidating, but less so than the same group using the Swastika and Sieg Heil salute.</p>
<p>In addition, the laws will allow police to disrupt and arrest those who pose a threat to our communities. This will need to be done in a way that does not escalate tensions at a public rally or protest.</p>
<p>In any case, the criminal law serves a moral purpose as well as a practical one. These developing laws send a clear signal that Nazi ideology has no place in Australian society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215601/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keiran Hardy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Queensland is the latest state bring in laws banning neo-Nazi and far-right symbols, but no one knows yet precisely what will be banned. Here’s how the laws differ across the country.Keiran Hardy, Senior Lecturer, Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1969112023-01-24T19:17:09Z2023-01-24T19:17:09ZHolocaust survivor stories are reminders of why we need to educate against antisemitism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505931/original/file-20230123-14-ctz5xg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=119%2C28%2C4563%2C2450&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Holocaust survivor Margot Friedlaender attends the unveiling of a bust of herself in Berlin, Jan. 23, 2023. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Michael Sohn)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Home and Belonging” is this year’s <a href="https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/international-holocaust-remembrance-day">theme for International Holocaust Remembrance Day</a>, as designated by the United Nations, Jan. 27, the day
<a href="https://www.auschwitz.org/en/">Auschwitz-Birkenau</a> was liberated in 1945.</p>
<p>This theme should compel us to reflect not only on belonging and Canadian identity, but on what these ideas mean to those persecuted during and after the Holocaust. </p>
<p>As we are all too often reminded, antisemitism did not die in the fires of Auschwitz-Birkenau, rather it lay dormant waiting for new opportunities to spread. </p>
<p>This year’s theme is particularly poignant <a href="https://www.friendsofsimonwiesenthalcenter.com/news/jewish-community-rise-in-hate-crimes-remains-most-targeted-religious-group">as Statistics Canada reports</a> a <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2022001/article/00013-eng.pdf">rise in police-reported hate crimes</a> targeting Jews: figures from 2020 to 2021 showed a 47 per cent rise, with 331 hate crimes reported in 2020 and 487 reported the next year.</p>
<p>Prioritizing Holocaust education at all levels of the education system is imperative. </p>
<h2>Young people and antisemitism</h2>
<p>Alarmingly, as antisemitism <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-hitler-conspiracies-and-other-holocaust-disinformation-undermine-democratic-institutions-191116">and Holocaust distortion</a> become dangerously prevalent, some acts are associated with <a href="https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-students-charged-with-hate-crimes-after-antisemitic-incident-1.6224954">younger members of</a> Canadian society. Earlier this month two Ottawa high-school students faced hate crime charges stemming from an antisemitic incident at their school. </p>
<p>In Toronto, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/antisemitism-schools-holocaust-education-1.6372798">Canada’s largest school board</a> also faced a barrage of antisemitic incidents. </p>
<p><a href="https://globalnews.ca/video/9340706/anti-semitic-hate-crime-on-the-rise-in-the-mainstream-across-canada-u-s">Antisemitic acts are quickly becoming normalized</a> across the mainstream and <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2023/01/18/a-mixed-reality-for-canadian-jews.html">show few signs of slowing down</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Eyewitness to History: Pinchas Gutter, video from Museum of Jewish Heritage.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Rise in hate, antisemitism</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/12/1148478489/antisemitic-beliefs-anti-defamation-league-survey">A recent and</a> comprehensive <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/report/antisemitic-attitudes-america-topline-findings">study by the ADL, a non-governmental organization that fights antisemitism and bias</a>, surveyed a representative sample of the American population between September and October 2022 and found over three-quarters of Americans (85 per cent) believe “at least one anti-Jewish trope.” That is an astonishing growth factor given that the 2019 study found 61 per cent of Americans believed in an anti-Jewish trope or conspiracy theory. </p>
<p>Although these are U.S. figures, Canadians also clearly need to be concerned given expressions of antisemitism, Holocaust disinformation and hate here. As civil society grapples with this, new initiatives are needed to ensure that hate and antisemitism is eradicated. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/banning-maus-only-exposes-the-significance-of-this-searing-graphic-novel-about-the-holocaust-175999">Banning ‘Maus’ only exposes the significance of this searing graphic novel about the Holocaust</a>
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<p>“Home and belonging” underpins what citizenship and human rights mean in any democratic society, and this themes resonates with Canadians of all ethnicities, religions and cultures.</p>
<p>This is exactly what makes the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ontario-introducing-grade-6-holocaust-education-requirement-in-2023/">announcement about Holocaust education being incorporated into the Ontario Grade 6 curriculum</a> so important — it is about teaching Canadians the dangers of where unbridled hate and antisemitism can lead, while sending a message to Canadian Jews that Canada is their home too. </p>
<p>The home and sense of belonging that approximately 40,000 Holocaust survivors found in Canada after the Second World War must remain in place for contemporary Jewish communities. </p>
<h2>Holocaust education</h2>
<p>Holocaust memory is one of the strongest tools for fortifying society against the dangers of racism, hate and antisemitism. However, to pretend that it will solve all manifestations of contemporary antisemitism would be a mistake. </p>
<p>Holocaust education must <a href="https://sunypress.edu/Books/W/Walter-Benjamin-s-Antifascist-Education">also address the ideological</a> <a href="https://www.tcpress.com/teaching-anti-fascism-9780807766965">roots of neo-fascism</a>, identity and alienation, <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691188836/a-lot-of-people-are-saying">conspiracism and disinformation</a>, all of which lay the foundation for the widespread belief in antisemitic conspiracy theories and anti-Jewish tropes. And, it must do this while teaching people how to navigate <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393713503">propaganda in a digital age</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Daunted but Undeterred - Holocaust Survivor, Judy Cohen, ‘DOLCE Magazine’ video.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Importance of first-hand accounts</h2>
<p>Still, Holocaust memory as represented by the first-hand accounts of those who survived the horrors of Nazi persecution remains the bedrock for understanding how the Holocaust forever impacted individuals, families and entire communities. </p>
<p>As we mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day this week on Jan. 27, Canadians of all ages can discover for themselves what home and belonging has meant for some who survived the Holocaust. </p>
<p>Over 100 life stories of Holocaust survivors have been published through the <a href="https://memoirs.azrielifoundation.org/">Azrieli Foundation Holocaust Survivors Memoir Program</a>. This week, five titles in this <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/campaign/2708/holocaust-survivor-memoirs-collection?utm_source=Azrieli+Holocaust+Memoirs+Program&utm_campaign=231749e450-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_FALL_2022_ED_NEWS_10122022_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9127a05633-231749e450-">collection are available for free as audiobooks for a two-week period</a>. Four of these titles are the first-ever audiobooks narrated by Holocaust survivors themselves.</p>
<p>Listening to the experiences of Holocaust survivors, narrated in their voices, is a powerful learning experience. </p>
<p>To understand the significance of home and belonging to Jews across Canada, and why the increase in antisemitism is so serious to Canadian society, choose to listen to one of these memoirs as a means of marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2023.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196911/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carson Phillips is a Canadian delegate to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.</span></em></p>Over 100 life stories of Holocaust survivors have been published through a Holocaust survivors’ memoir program. Listening to survivors narrate their stories is a powerful learning experience.Carson Phillips, Faculty, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Gratz CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1911162022-10-24T17:03:11Z2022-10-24T17:03:11ZHow Hitler conspiracies and other Holocaust disinformation undermine democratic institutions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490176/original/file-20221017-6899-yxtviw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C475%2C4673%2C2668&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Ukrainian serviceman inspects a classroom with a sign 'Z' on the door used by Russian forces in the retaken area of Kapitolivka, Ukraine, Sept. 25, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin spread an outlandish conspiracy theory to justify military invasion of Ukraine.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-hitler-conspiracies-and-other-holocaust-disinformation-undermine-democratic-institutions" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Godwin’s Law posits that any online argument, if it continues long enough, will <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/memes/godwins-law/">inevitably invoke a comparison to Hitler</a>.</p>
<p>Perhaps there should be an updated version: If you examine any given conspiracy theory, even seemingly innocuous ones, it won’t be long until you find coded and explicit antisemitism. </p>
<p>Some cases are obvious. Remember how far-right U.S. congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene embraced the <a href="https://www.globalnews.ca/news/7607501/marjorie-taylor-greene-jewish-space-laser/">“Jewish space lasers</a>” theory after the California wildfires in 2018? </p>
<p>Other conspiracy theories, such as those that claim <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/reports/antisemitic-conspiracies-about-911-endure-20-years-later">9/11 was an inside job</a>, require a little more deciphering. </p>
<p>More recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin spread an outlandish conspiracy theory to justify his military invasion of Ukraine. Nothing less than the <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/disinformation-threat-to-democracy-requires-stronger-response-by-noelle-lenoir-2022-05">de-nazification of Ukraine</a> was required, Putin bizarrely claimed, while neglecting the fact that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish <a href="https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/in-israel-zelensky-tells-own-familys-holocaust-story.html">and lost family members in the Holocaust</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-putins-denazification-campaign-hits-babyn-yar-holocaust-memorial-to-33-000-murdered-jews-178403">Ukraine war: Putin's 'denazification' campaign hits Babyn Yar holocaust memorial to 33,000 murdered Jews</a>
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<p>All too often, such theories and disinformation are rooted in <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2022/02/09/abbie-richards-fights-tiktok-disinformation-with-a-cup-of-tea-a-conspiracy-chart-and-a-punchline">antisemitic tropes</a>. These promote false claims of Jewish control over institutions and even the outcome of specific events. </p>
<p>While it might be easy to dismiss such disinformation as harmless or too bizarre to be believable, in reality disinformation and conspiracy theorizing often spreads harmful antisemitic messages and also <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691188836/a-lot-of-people-are-saying">undermines our democratic institutions</a>. </p>
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<img alt="A man seen holidng a sign that says 'We shall not forget.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491077/original/file-20221021-19-d7qc47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491077/original/file-20221021-19-d7qc47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491077/original/file-20221021-19-d7qc47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491077/original/file-20221021-19-d7qc47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491077/original/file-20221021-19-d7qc47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491077/original/file-20221021-19-d7qc47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491077/original/file-20221021-19-d7qc47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Anti-Nazi demonstration, Carlton St., Toronto, May 31, 1981.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Ontario Jewish Archives, item 3076-3077)</span></span>
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<h2>Longevity of antisemitic conspiracy theory</h2>
<p>One of the longest lasting conspiracy theories — even though it has been repeatedly proven false — is the narrative of a Jewish world conspiracy presented in <em><a href="https://www.theconversation.com/why-the-protocols-of-the-elders-of-zion-is-still-pushed-by-anti-semites-more-than-a-century-after-hoax-first-circulated-145220">The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.</a></em> </p>
<p>British historian <a href="https://www.richardjevans.com/">Richard Evans</a> will explore the longevity of the Protocols and how they are seen within the framework of Nazi ideology, in Toronto on Nov. 2, <a href="https://www.holocaustcentre.com/hew/featured-programs2022">opening Holocaust Education Week 2022</a>.</p>
<p>Evans’s book <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/314851/the-hitler-conspiracies-by-evans-richard-j/9780141991498"><em>The Hitler Conspiracies</em></a> is an important reminder of the perennial fascination with and longevity of the inherently antisemitic conspiracy theory that historian <a href="https://www.commentary.org/articles/walter-laqueur/warrant-for-genocide-by-norman-cohn/">Norman Cohn famously described as a “warrant for genocide.</a>” </p>
<p>As Yehuda Bauer, honorary chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, stated, “a half truth is worse than a full lie.” </p>
<p><a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/most-popular-conspiracy-theories">Myths and disinformation about the Holocaust</a> continue to permeate social media and increasingly, political discourse, even while the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/genocide/deniers_01.shtml">Holocaust is one</a> of the <a href="https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/documenting-numbers-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-and-nazi-persecution">most thoroughly documented events</a> in history.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman seen standing at the side of a wall of names." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490193/original/file-20221017-17-bkatbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490193/original/file-20221017-17-bkatbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490193/original/file-20221017-17-bkatbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490193/original/file-20221017-17-bkatbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490193/original/file-20221017-17-bkatbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490193/original/file-20221017-17-bkatbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490193/original/file-20221017-17-bkatbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A woman lays a flower on the Wall of Names during a ceremony at the memorial garden of the children of the Vel d'Hiv Roundup in Paris, July 16, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Distortion, misinformation</h2>
<p>Whether intentional or not, disinformation breathes new life into old, often violence-inducing antisemitic narratives. The power of distortion and misinformation is its seemingly immutable ability to defy the historical truth. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/7-ways-to-spot-polarizing-language-how-to-choose-responsibly-what-to-amplify-online-or-in-person-177276">7 ways to spot polarizing language — how to choose responsibly what to amplify online or in-person</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Dangerous narratives found in the <em>Protocols</em> continue to inform attempts to deny and distort the Holocaust. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum calls it the <a href="https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/protocols-of-the-elders-of-zion">most notorious and widely distributed antisemitic publication of modern times</a>.</p>
<p>Born out of fear and hatred, Holocaust conspiracy theories have enormous longevity and regain traction in times of uncertainty and societal unease. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/conspiracy-theories-and-the-people-who-believe-them-9780190844073?q=Conspiracy%20Theories%20and%20the%20People%20Who%20Believe%20Them&lang=en&cc=ca#">distortion and disinformation attempts to erode our belief</a> in the historical record and cast aspersions on Jews, it simultaneously nourishes conspiracy theories that encourage extreme nationalism, and not infrequently antisemitism. </p>
<p>Antisemitism is inherently conspiratorial. In the 20th century, it became <a href="https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/ctec/ctec-publications/violent-impact-anti-semitic-conspiracy">deeply enmeshed in western antidemocratic and fascist politics</a>.</p>
<p>Visions of shadowy Jewish cabals pulling the strings behind world events and orchestrating disasters, both macro and personal, continue to hold sway in our political imagination. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1547250248204095488"}"></div></p>
<h2>Pandemic misappropriations</h2>
<p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-lockdown protesters around the world frequently <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/holocaust-survivor-decries-abuse-of-yellow-star-at-covid-protests/">appropriated the yellow star</a> that was forced upon Jews during the Holocaust. Others invoked visuals of the <a href="https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/shameful-auschwitz-style-banner-polish-133615944.html">notorious death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau</a> in a misguided attempt to compare their supposed victimization to the genocide of European Jewry. </p>
<p>Holocaust distortion and conspiracism are equally dangerous: both open the door to entertaining fantasies and ideas that have historically led to mass murder of Jews. </p>
<p>This is the case whether it is the intentionally hateful kind espoused by infamous neo-Nazis <a href="https://www.auschwitz.org/en/history/holocaust-denial/ernst-zundel/">like Ernst Zundel</a>, or misguided appropriations by anti-lockdown protesters <a href="https://www.againstholocaustdistortion.org/news/debunking-inappropriate-holocaust-comparisons-the-covid-19-yellow-star">during the pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>One result of this phenomenon is <a href="https://www.governing.com/now/conspiracy-theories-cast-shadows-over-washington-midterms">the weakening of our democratic institutions</a>, which are the foundation of western democracy itself. </p>
<h2>Weakend public trust</h2>
<p>Just as the spread of this disinformation and false equivalencies instrumentalize history, they also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506211000217">weaken public trust in</a> the bodies <a href="https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/transparency-communication-and-trust-the-role-of-public-communication-in-responding-to-the-wave-of-disinformation-about-the-new-coronavirus-bef7ad6e/">that determine public health guidelines</a> and oversee public safety <a href="https://thehub.ca/2022-08-25/rudyard-griffiths-wef-conspiracies-are-antisemitic-and-a-moral-stain-on-conservative-politics">and economic policy</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Health-care workers in scrubs and masks look out a window at the top of protest signs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491079/original/file-20221021-16-35nb6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491079/original/file-20221021-16-35nb6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491079/original/file-20221021-16-35nb6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491079/original/file-20221021-16-35nb6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491079/original/file-20221021-16-35nb6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491079/original/file-20221021-16-35nb6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491079/original/file-20221021-16-35nb6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Health-care workers watch from a window as demonstrators gather outside Toronto General Hospital, in September 2021, to protest against COVID-19 vaccines.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
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<p>Characteristically, conspiracy theories, disinformation and misinformation don’t need to prove their claims. They need only to cause doubt and undermine the agencies and departments that function as part of the democratic process.</p>
<p>We are living in conspiratorial times. The concerning prevalence of Holocaust distortion and denial material online today poses a serious challenge to educators. Even when debunked, disinformation can remain accessible through online platforms influencing new generations unaware of how this information has been discredited. </p>
<p>A recent UNESCO study reported that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/13/holocaust-denial-telegram-history-distortion-content-moderation/">nearly half of the Holocaust content on the app Telegram</a> contained denial and disinformation. <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000381958">Educational programs have been developed</a> that target the specific challenges posed by this proliferation of falsehoods and disinformation. </p>
<h2>Robust Holocaust education, digital literacy</h2>
<p>It will require however, prioritizing teaching digital literacy and robust Holocaust education — and repeatedly equipping learners with <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2022/02/09/abbie-richards-fights-tiktok-disinformation-with-a-cup-of-tea-a-conspiracy-chart-and-a-punchline">tools to critically analyze what they encounter in online forums</a>. </p>
<iframe src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6890257204004359430?lang=en-US" style="border:0;width:100%;min-height:825px;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Holocaust distortion and conspiracism are only one form of ugly disinformation swirling our polluted media ecosystems and social networks, but they are a particularly venomous and dangerous one. </p>
<p>Addressing this problem will not be easy. It requires a collaborative response that must include international co-operation from all levels of governments, leaders and international organizations devoted to nurturing and protecting civil society. When a celebrity such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/oct/19/kanye-west-changes-name-ye">Ye, formerly known as Kanye West</a>, can espouse <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/24/us/los-angeles-demonstrators-kanye-west-antisemitic-remarks/index.html">antisemitic conspiracy theories</a> and still have a business partnership with Adidas — <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/25/adidas-terminates-partnership-with-ye-following-rappers-antisemitic-remarks.html">now ended after mounting public pressure</a> — there is indeed a lot of work to do. To their credit, <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/10/21/kanye-west-balenciaga-antisemetic-comments-twitter-instagram/?queryly=related_article">sponsor Balenciaga severed ties</a> with him after his <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/arts/music/kanye-west-adidas-balenciaga-yeezy.html">antisemitic outbursts</a>.</p>
<p>To effect real change, education, collective responsibility and action are essential for success.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191116/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carson Phillips is affiliated with the Holocaust Education Centre in Toronto, Canada and a Canadian delegate to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.</span></em></p>Many conspiracy theories and disinformation are rooted in antisemitic tropes which spread harm and undermine our democratic institutions.Carson Phillips, Adjunct, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Gratz CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1860242022-07-13T19:22:09Z2022-07-13T19:22:09ZToronto woman set on fire: Violence against women and girls should be treated as a hate crime<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473977/original/file-20220713-2711-y2xxc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C768%2C548&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Toronto woman was set on fire on a TTC bus: police say they are investigating it as a hate-crime. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.tps.ca/media-centre/news-releases/53433/">(Toronto Police Service)</a></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/toronto-woman-set-on-fire--violence-against-women-and-girls-should-be-treated-as-a-hate-crime" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Last week, a young woman <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/woman-fire-toronto-kipling-nyima-dolma-1.6517447">died as a result of severe burns</a> after a man poured a flammable liquid on her and then set fire to her while she was on a bus in Toronto in June. </p>
<p>Police <a href="https://www.tps.ca/media-centre/news-releases/53433/">are investigating the homicide as a “hate-motivated” act</a>; it is not yet known what police think was the motivation. </p>
<p>Given the victim was a woman, it has prompted many to ask: Why is violence against women not treated as a hate crime?</p>
<p>This question is long overdue and has now been taken on by British Columbia’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner <a href="https://hateinquiry.bchumanrights.ca/documents/">inquiry into hate in the pandemic</a>. This is the first such inquiry in Canada, and one of few globally, to include a focus on gender-based violence as a form of hate. </p>
<p>In Canada, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2022001/article/00005-eng.htm">the definition of a hate crime </a> has evolved out of related Criminal Code sections, identifying “sex” as an identifiable group. The Canadian Human Rights Act also includes “sex” among a list of identifiable groups protected from discrimination. For decades, then, it has been possible to respond to violence against women and girls as a form of hate on the basis of “sex.”</p>
<p>So how often does this actually occur? </p>
<h2>Data gap in sex-motivated hate crimes</h2>
<p><a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2022001/article/00005-eng.htm">Police-reported statistics</a> from 2006-20 show that sex never comprises more than three per cent of reported hate crimes. <a href="https://utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/cjccj.2019-0035">One study focusing on 2014</a> compared police figures to self-reported data to show that sex-motivated hate crimes were significantly under-reported: under three per cent compared to 22 per cent. </p>
<p>It is likely many cases were motivated by the intersections of sex and characteristics like race and religion, but data are limited in the ability to capture these combinations — a significant gap which is increasingly acknowledged.</p>
<h2>Power and control does not negate hate</h2>
<p>One common argument for the invisibility of sex-motivated hate is that violence against women and girls is more often seen as motivated by a man’s desire for <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24571896#metadata_info_tab_contents">power and control</a>, since women and girls are most often (58 per cent) <a href="https://www.unodc.org/unodc/frontpage/2021/November/unodc-research_-2020-saw-every-11-minutes-a-woman-or-girl-being-killed-by-someone-in-their-family.html">victimized by male partners and family members</a>.</p>
<p>But the presence of power and control as a motivation for male violence does not preclude the accompanying motivation of hate. In fact, hate may be the primary motivation for efforts to exercise power and control over a woman. </p>
<p>A large proportion of women and girls are also victimized by men with whom they shared more distant or no relationship, or simply said they did not want to have a relationship. </p>
<p>The Toronto woman who was burned alive <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-police-lay-murder-charge-after-woman-fatally-set-on-fire-at-subway-station-1.5983441">did not know her killer</a>. </p>
<p>A mother and daughter who were killed last month, and a second daughter who was injured in Ottawa, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/vigil-anne-marie-jasmine-catherine-ready-anoka-street-stabbing-ottawa-1.6509123">did not share a relationship with the accused male perpetrator</a>. He allegedly had “romantic interests” in the surviving daughter. Days before the attack, he <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/joshua-graves-ottawa-stabbing-shooting-siu-anoka-1.6506396">had been released after being charged</a> with stalking and sexual assault of unrelated women. </p>
<h2>Sex-motivated hate crimes are common</h2>
<p>One might argue these examples are anomalies, perpetrated by men with mental health issues. This is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085113480824">common perpetrator-excusing rationale</a>. </p>
<p>This perception must change. </p>
<p>Although the past month was full of tragedies for these women and their loved ones, three separate processes were also underway to help us move towards a better understanding and develop better responses to hate-motivated killings of women. </p>
<p>The Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario held a <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/2022/06/28/we-are-not-going-to-wait-forever-advocates-say-urgent-action-needed-after-landmark-inquest-results-in-86-recommendations-to-curb-intimate-partner-violence.html">three-week inquest</a> into one of the worst instances of intimate partner femicide in Canadian history. The case involved the killings of three women by one man in 2015. The inquest made 86 recommendations on femicide and gender-based violence. When sentencing the man to life in prison, the judge said: “… he is a violent vindictive, calculating abuser of women, who … took his hatred to its ultimate climax …” </p>
<p>The convicted male offender in the “Toronto Van Attack” was also sentenced for killing eight women and two men and injuring 16 others in 2018. He has said he drew his inspiration from the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0886260520959625">so-called incel online subculture</a> of men united by sexual frustration and a hatred of women. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/incels-are-surprisingly-diverse-but-united-by-hate-163414">Incels are surprisingly diverse but united by hate</a>
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</em>
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<p>And the Nova Scotia <a href="https://masscasualtycommission.ca/">Mass Casualty Commission</a> is currently examining the events leading up to, and surrounding, the killings of 13 women and nine men in April 2020. Finally killed by police, the man’s killing spree began with violence against his female partner, which was reportedly not the first instance of violence against her. Connections are being examined between gender-based violence and mass killings, including the role of misogyny, roughly defined as the hatred of women.</p>
<p>Mass killings are not the only types of incidents involving the hatred of women and girls, however. </p>
<h2>Everyday experiences of hate</h2>
<p>According to the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability <a href="https://www.femicideincanada.ca/cfoja_reports">one women or girl is killed every other day in Canada</a>, a significant portion of which are likely motivated by hatred. We <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/december-2021/data-is-a-defence-against-femicide/">lack reliable data</a> to understand its actual occurrence.</p>
<p>The inquiry on <a href="https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/">missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls</a> demonstrates how a significant proportion of femicides are motivated by a combination of sex and racially motivated hatred. These killings underscore how intersecting identities motivate hate, often facilitated by institutional and systemic misogyny, <a href="https://fafia-afai.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/FAFIA_RCMP_REPORT.pdf">including police</a>, which also impacts Black women and other racialized and marginalized groups. </p>
<p>And then there are the many other forms of <a href="https://everydaysexism.com/">everyday sexism</a> that occur, often including violence and hate, <a href="http://www.katemanne.net/down-girl.html">particularly against women in public life</a>.</p>
<p>So why is violence against women and girls motivated by hate rarely treated as such, despite our legislation providing the mechanisms to do so?</p>
<p>The report pending from British Columbia and the recently announced national <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-rcmp-forms-task-force-to-create-national-hate-crimes-policing/">Task Force on Hate Crime</a> can help begin to answer this question. </p>
<p>Until then, violence against women and girls remains marginalized in Canada’s hate crime framework, just as their experiences of male violence are marginalized, normalized and minimized in society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186024/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Myrna Dawson received funding from the BC Office of Human Rights Commissioner to examine gender-based violence as a form of hate (and hate crime).</span></em></p>Last week, a young woman died after being set fire on a Toronto bus. Police are investigating it as a hate-motivated act. Why is violence against women not treated more often as a hate crime?Myrna Dawson, Professor and Research Leadership Chair, Sociology, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1816962022-07-04T15:19:50Z2022-07-04T15:19:50ZSports can help prevent violent extremism in youth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470370/original/file-20220622-34601-b1wwi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=63%2C0%2C4168%2C2715&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sports may offer a strategy to re-integrate young people involved in violent activities back in to society.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Instances of violent extremism such as the recent attacks on <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/attack-on-chinese-workers-in-pakistan-challenges-new-government/6547926.html">Chinese workers in Pakistan</a> have been on a rise globally. These incidents have forced <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/canadian-report-warns-extremist-infiltration-military-84301400">nations across the world to take serious measures</a> — including <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220412-tunisia-france-unite-to-protect-youth-against-violent-extremism">declaring zero-tolerance policies</a> — to curb the violence. </p>
<p>Violent extremism <a href="https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/terrorism/module-2/key-issues/radicalization-violent-extremism.html">condones violent actions that are based on political or religious ideologies</a>, and youth are particularly vulnerable to it. In some countries they are at even greater risk: Pakistan, which is home to almost 120 million young people, <a href="https://www.ipripak.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/3-art-s-15.pdf">sees recurring targeting, manipulation and recruitment of vulnerable youth by extremist groups</a>.</p>
<p>Young people may be vulnerable to violent extremism due to several reasons including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2018.1543144">social exclusion, discrimination, hate, trauma, racism and forced displacement</a>. These reasons often accumulate over time, leading to increased frustrations among youth and making them <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000260547">vulnerable to exploitation by extremist groups</a> who promise them a better life and sense of community. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://s-space.snu.ac.kr/handle/10371/144131">recent research</a> explored the reasons behind youth involvement in violent extremism in the South Punjab region of Pakistan and found that sports could help prevent it through resilience building. Sports is a powerful tool that can help change lives if used in an organized way.</p>
<h2>Promotion of positive values through sport</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Hands holding other hands." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469222/original/file-20220616-16-vzcb7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469222/original/file-20220616-16-vzcb7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469222/original/file-20220616-16-vzcb7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469222/original/file-20220616-16-vzcb7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469222/original/file-20220616-16-vzcb7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469222/original/file-20220616-16-vzcb7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469222/original/file-20220616-16-vzcb7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sports can help youth believe in equality through mutual acceptance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When young people experience positive interactions, it increases their sense of <a href="https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2020.00099">belonging</a>, improves <a href="https://mymind.org/why-is-acceptance-important-for-our-mental-health">mental health</a> and strengthens community ties. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, discrimination, harsh words, gestures or behaviour <a href="https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/discrimination-can-be-harmful-to-your-mental-health">negatively impact their mental health</a> and cause feelings of isolation. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2015.1050264">Studies have found</a> that sports can provide a safe environment to teach young people positive values through organized activities that lead to better resilience. It can also help youth believe in equality through mutual acceptance. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-sport-for-development-and-peace-can-transform-the-lives-of-youth-126151">How sport for development and peace can transform the lives of youth</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Experiencing fairness and integrity during sports — <a href="http://www.sportparent.eu/en/helping-develop-integrity-in-sport">through the repetition of sporting values and principles including respect for others, co-operation and team-work, problem solving, conflict resolution, fair play and resilience</a> — makes them better human beings. It may also influence honesty, responsibility, respect and trust in their lives outside these activities as well. The resilience gained through sports strengthens young people and they become difficult targets for extremist groups. </p>
<h2>Violent extremism prevention through sports</h2>
<p><a href="https://s-space.snu.ac.kr/handle/10371/144131">We explored</a> two non-profit organizations’ implementation of <a href="https://www.soschildrensvillages.ca/sports-development-and-peace">sports for development and peace programs</a> in Pakistan. We found that youth vulnerability could be changed by building life skills and developing social and moral values through sport. </p>
<p>These <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-sport-for-development-and-peace-can-transform-the-lives-of-youth-126151">programs aim to use various sports or physical activities</a> to promote peace, health and social cohesion, including everyone to help foster community ties. As <a href="https://en.unesco.org/themes/fostering-rights-inclusion">inclusion prevents discrimination</a>, these programs promote a safe and stress-free environment for youth to let loose. </p>
<p>For example, Swat Youth Front uses soccer, volleyball and cricket to promote <a href="https://www.peaceinsight.org/en/organisations/syf/">peace values among war survivors</a>. Similarly, <a href="https://impactinfocus.com/idsdp-kafka-welfare-organization/">Kafka Welfare Organization</a> uses team-based sports to promote peace among young people in Pakistan.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of young people stand in a circle holding hands." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469520/original/file-20220617-16-e948sk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469520/original/file-20220617-16-e948sk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469520/original/file-20220617-16-e948sk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469520/original/file-20220617-16-e948sk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469520/original/file-20220617-16-e948sk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469520/original/file-20220617-16-e948sk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469520/original/file-20220617-16-e948sk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A sports for development and peace activities event organized at the children literature festival held at Lahore, Pakistan, in January 2018, teaches peace values and promotes citizenship among young people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Kafka Welfare Organization)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sports not only helped prevent the involvement of vulnerable youth in violent extremism but was used to integrate radicalized, excluded or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2022-008717">forcefully displaced</a> people back into the communities. The programs also helped reduce the mental health consequences of trauma exposure. </p>
<p>Sports did this because: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Physical activity can <a href="https://www.harvardpilgrim.org/hapiguide/exercise-has-benefits-for-mind-body-and-spirit/">protect and promote positive mental, physical and spiritual health</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>Fun activities, like sports, <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/top-fun-stress-relievers-3145208">help reduce stress and anxiety</a>. </p></li>
<li><p>Team sports help youth make friends and develop social ties. The youth we engaged with said sports helped them create support systems as they bonded with their teammates.</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>Building resilience against violent extremism</h2>
<p>Our research also explored two sports-based social programs — Parvaz e Aman
Program (PeA) and Youth Adolescent Development — working in South Punjab, Pakistan. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Two boys play cricket in a rural setting" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469215/original/file-20220616-12-88qjk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469215/original/file-20220616-12-88qjk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469215/original/file-20220616-12-88qjk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469215/original/file-20220616-12-88qjk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469215/original/file-20220616-12-88qjk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469215/original/file-20220616-12-88qjk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469215/original/file-20220616-12-88qjk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When young people play together as a team and create stronger ties with the community, it helps them build trust.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2017.11.009">South Punjab is a marginalized area</a> where young people are considered more vulnerable because of the lacking economic and education opportunities. This area has been used by the Taliban to recruit <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344298071_Radicalization_of_Youth_in_Southern_Punjab">people into violent extremist activities</a>. The sports-based social programs use sports to build resilience among young people and help them stay away from such violent extremism recruitment. </p>
<p>The youth we interacted with — as part of our research — mentioned that they often “felt alone and neglected, but now feel important and have a purpose in life.” Many were thrilled to feel respected by their teammates it helped them feel equal. </p>
<h2>A global threat needs a broader solution</h2>
<p>The United Nations has been promoting the role of sports to prevent violent extremism among communities for years.</p>
<p>Often it is endorsed as an effective tool to promote peace among communities. The UN Office of Counter-Terrorism declared that sports: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“<a href="https://www.sportsforsocialimpact.com/post/preventing-violent-extremism-in-youth">Help build the resilience of at-risk youth</a>, strengthening their life skills to minimize risk factors and maximize protective factors.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Violent extremism is a global threat that needs to be tackled seriously.</p>
<p>Investing in sports programs could be part of a broader solution. Sports may offer a strategy to reintegrate youth who were involved in violent activities into society. It may also help prevent recruitment of new targets. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44293/">Sports has the power</a> to promote pro social behaviour among young people. Neglecting its role in social development can increase a chance of youth involvement in violent activities. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.rcog.org.uk/careers-and-training/training/courses-and-events/rcog-world-congress/rcog-congress-2022/registration/low-resource-countries/">Governments of developing countries</a>, such as Pakistan, need to adopt these practices and integrate them in their policies, because violent extremism cannot be stopped through military actions alone in the long term. We need to also support young and vulnerable people, and that is possible through sports.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181696/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Umair Asif is a member of the UNESCO Chair in Curriculum Development and he receives funding from UQAM Sciences Faculty for this project. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Rosenbaum received funding from NHMRC. He is affiliated with The Olympic Refuge Foundation Think Tank. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tegwen Gadais is member of the UNESCO Chair in Curricular Development and he receives funds from UQAM sciences faculty and RISUQ for this project.</span></em></p>Sports can help prevent the involvement of youth in violent extremism.Umair Asif, PhD Student, Health and Society, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Simon Rosenbaum, Associate professor & Scientia Fellow, Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, UNSW SydneyTegwen Gadais, Professor, Département des sciences de l'activité physique, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1713352021-11-11T15:42:03Z2021-11-11T15:42:03ZIt’s not stress that’s killing us, it’s hate: Maybe mindfulness can help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430826/original/file-20211108-25-18q0n4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C5455%2C3628&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Experts believe that mindfulness offers a solution to intolerance.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is no shortage of divisive social issues today, all competing in an increasingly crowded outrage marketplace for our attention. </p>
<p>With <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-25/how-facebook-algorithms-can-fight-over-your-feed-quicktake">algorithms curating increasingly hateful content</a> under the guise of “everyday news,” the ability to be curious and open to others’ perspectives has never been more critical. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-ideas-of-foucault-99758">famed philosopher Michel Foucault once argued</a>, only through tolerating dissent and understanding resistance can society change and evolve. But if tolerance rather than outrage is the metric, it feels like we are growing weaker. </p>
<h2>What does mindfulness really mean?</h2>
<p>Mindfulness has two components: Present-moment oriented awareness of what’s happening within and around us; and acceptance of what’s happening in our awareness. Experts believe that mindfulness offers a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/11771-007">solution to intolerance</a> because it promotes acceptance and subverts our knee-jerk reactions to defend our ingrained beliefs.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/envy/201811/why-has-mindfulness-become-so-popular">increasing popularity of mindfulness</a> has been driven by expectations that it will reduce stress. Yet, beyond quelling nerves, mindfulness equips us with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bph077">ability to embrace the distress and resentment</a> required to examine ideas we have become comfortable dismissing — a process that requires engaging with discomfort. </p>
<p>Over the course of the pandemic, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-021-01459-8">many of us have dipped a toe into mindfulness practices</a>, perhaps guided by apps, self-help books or even <a href="https://news.crunchbase.com/news/wave-launches-with-5-65m-to-make-guided-meditation-mainstream/">brainwave-sensing vibrating pillows</a>. But do most people understand that <a href="https://hbr.org/2015/12/if-mindfulness-makes-you-uncomfortable-its-working">mindfulness is about engaging with uncomfortable experiences</a>? Or is it seen as just another fad that once again puts the self at the centre of self-discovery and self-help, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/14/the-mindfulness-conspiracy-capitalist-spirituality">some critics</a> have suggested?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A Black woman wearing an orange sweater and her hair natural stands in front of a blue background with her eyes closed looking zen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430533/original/file-20211105-10546-g9wv07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C8456%2C5646&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430533/original/file-20211105-10546-g9wv07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430533/original/file-20211105-10546-g9wv07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430533/original/file-20211105-10546-g9wv07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430533/original/file-20211105-10546-g9wv07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430533/original/file-20211105-10546-g9wv07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430533/original/file-20211105-10546-g9wv07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The pandemic has encouraged many people to try mindfulness practices.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How do people understand and practice mindfulness?</h2>
<p>As researchers of mindfulness and wisdom, we decided to look into this issue to examine whether the popular understanding of mindfulness may support the dismantling of intolerance. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102085">new report published in <em>Clinical Psychology Review</em></a>, we first determined common terms associated with mindfulness across some of the largest English language databases available today and found that public understanding of mindfulness <a href="https://books.google.com/ngrams/">in books</a>, <a href="https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/">spoken and written text</a> and <a href="https://www.english-corpora.org/iweb/">websites and blogs</a> focuses on engagement and acceptance, rather than mere stress relief. We found most people appear to understand what mindfulness means. Next, we examined whether they apply these insights in practice.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graph depicting the trends of words associated to mindfulness over time" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430714/original/file-20211108-9938-1jb2rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430714/original/file-20211108-9938-1jb2rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430714/original/file-20211108-9938-1jb2rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430714/original/file-20211108-9938-1jb2rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430714/original/file-20211108-9938-1jb2rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430714/original/file-20211108-9938-1jb2rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430714/original/file-20211108-9938-1jb2rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Evolution of mindfulness, as depicted by most common words semantically associated with mindfulness between 1979 and 2010 in English-language Google books. At least half of the Top 10 most common terms were about engagement: awareness, concentration, alertness, compassion, wisdom. None of the Top 10 terms show common understanding of mindfulness as stress-reduction or relief from suffering.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Igor Grossmann)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To address this question, we performed <a href="https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/introduction-to-meta-analysis-a-guide-for-the-novice">a meta-analysis</a>, combining results from 150 studies with more than 40,000 people that investigated how people report experiencing mindfulness. Additionally, we conducted <a href="https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/emp">novel empirical research</a> to test how reported mindfulness is associated with markers of engaged thought. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bph077">In theory</a>, both the awareness and acceptance elements of mindfulness would be used together to help a person work through their challenges and daily experiences by engaging with challenging experiences in their mind. Surprisingly, that’s not what we found. </p>
<p>While experts claim we use <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bph077">both awareness and acceptance together</a>, our meta-analysis showed that occasional mindfulness users treat awareness and acceptance as independent processes or even as opposites: people who reported greater awareness reported lower acceptance and vice versa.</p>
<p>And that’s not all. In a series of empirical studies we conducted, participants reporting greater acceptance were in fact reporting <em>less</em> engagement with their difficult issues! Instead of engaging with challenging topics by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2020.1750917">wisely reflecting</a> on them — considering limits of their knowledge, others’ perspectives and the context of their experience — these people were either avoiding or suppressing difficult experiences. </p>
<p>Study after study, we saw that people scoring higher on established mindfulness measures reported lower engagement with their experiences. In practice, most people conflated acceptance with passivity or avoidance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An illustration depicts a woman in a bubble, avoiding all that's around her as people clamour for her attention." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430825/original/file-20211108-13-17pbmwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430825/original/file-20211108-13-17pbmwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430825/original/file-20211108-13-17pbmwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430825/original/file-20211108-13-17pbmwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430825/original/file-20211108-13-17pbmwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430825/original/file-20211108-13-17pbmwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430825/original/file-20211108-13-17pbmwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reducing stress by avoiding difficult conversations is a short-term solution that only further polarizes perspectives.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The unfulfilled promise of mindfulness</h2>
<p>This is a problem. When mindfulness is understood in word but not in practice, it ceases to pave a path to wise judgment, co-operation or compassion. </p>
<p>Just as the ability to choose where we place our attention and how long we focus improves through awareness training, the ability to be accepting of dissenting opinions requires practice in order to create understanding instead of further marginalizing those we disagree with. </p>
<p>Acceptance doesn’t mean that we have to passively accept whatever cards we are dealt. It means confronting our discomfort long enough to explore what needs to be changed and being malleable enough to consider vantage points we typically ignore. Reducing stress by avoiding difficult conversations is a short-term solution that only further polarizes perspectives.</p>
<h2>The purpose of mindfulness</h2>
<p>Mindfulness might not provide an easy answer to the divisiveness that surrounds us, but an accurate understanding that includes the practice of acceptance may help encourage sincere discussion, generous compassion and authentic connection. </p>
<p>To strengthen our ability to see the present moment through multiple interpretations and from many perspectives, we may have to discover <em>how</em> to practice mindfulness — by applying awareness and acceptance together. </p>
<p>Are we willing to endure the pains of growing together or will outrage remain the more desirable status quo?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171335/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Igor Grossmann receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science, John Templeton Foundation, and Templeton World Charity Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ellen Choi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mindfulness might not be an easy answer to the divisiveness that surrounds us, but an accurate understanding that includes the practice of acceptance may help encourage sincerity and understanding.Igor Grossmann, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of WaterlooEllen Choi, Assistant Professor, HR Management & Organizational Behaviour, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1611632021-05-26T18:11:22Z2021-05-26T18:11:22ZWhy hatred should be considered a contagious disease<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402695/original/file-20210525-23-1se226t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C114%2C5463%2C3448&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot during clashes with Israeli soldiers at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 21, the day a cease-fire took effect after 11 days of heavy fighting between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A significant portion of violence in the world is based on hatred. People find so many reasons to hate one another: their class, gender, authority, religion, skin colour, ethnicity, sexual orientation, creed, customs, nationality, political opinions, physical attributes or imagined attributes. And many of those who are targets of hatred in turn hate their haters and return the violence.</p>
<p>Hatred and violence are threats to human health and global stability. <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/i-shall-not-hate-9780802779496/">As a medical doctor who researches public health as a tool for peace</a>, I consider hatred a contagious disease and a health emergency of international concern.</p>
<p>Hatred and violence have considerable costs in terms of human health and life. Hatred should be acknowledged as a contagious disease, a public health issue and a determinant of health because prevention is needed — and because of the limited health-care resources available to fight it.</p>
<p>In a 2002 report, the World Health Organization called violence a “<a href="https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/en/summary_en.pdf">leading worldwide public health problem</a>” and estimated that 1.6 million lose their lives to violence every year. The report is almost 20 years old now. How many more have died as a result of violence since then?</p>
<h2>A long history of hatred</h2>
<p>The world has recently seen the latest example of hatred-inspired violence playing out between Palestinians and Israelis.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402707/original/file-20210525-15-5gwtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The map shows the majority of the deaths have happened in Gaza City." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402707/original/file-20210525-15-5gwtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402707/original/file-20210525-15-5gwtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=706&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402707/original/file-20210525-15-5gwtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=706&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402707/original/file-20210525-15-5gwtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=706&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402707/original/file-20210525-15-5gwtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402707/original/file-20210525-15-5gwtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402707/original/file-20210525-15-5gwtki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This map shows deaths across Israel and Palestinian territories between May 10-20. A ceasefire was announced on May 21.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinian-cease-fire-hamas-caac81bc36fe9be67ac2f7c27000c74b">A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas</a> was announced after 11 days of violence that killed more than 250 people, <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/flash-update-02-situation-occupied-palestinian-territory">including 66 children and 39 women, and wounded 2,000 in Gaza</a>. Beyond the deaths is the destruction to infrastructure from the Israeli attacks — <a href="https://rsf.org/en/news/rsf-asks-icc-prosecutor-say-whether-israeli-airstrikes-media-gaza-constitute-war-crimes">called a war crime by some international organizations</a> — that has displaced thousands of Palestinians.</p>
<p>What do we expect from all those who are exposed to different varying aspects of harm from discrimination, racism, violence, intimidation, humiliation, oppression, occupation, hate crime, hate speech, incitement and violence? </p>
<p>The WHO <a href="https://www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/violence-position-paper.html">defines violence</a> as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development, or deprivation.”</p>
<h2>Fuelled by hate</h2>
<p>Health, freedom, justice, education, well-being, violence and war depend on who you are and where you live. Many of the current violent civil or civil-military conflicts across the globe are either based on, or fuelled by, hatred.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13623699.2017.1344378">In an academic paper I co-authored in 2017</a> with Dr. Neil Arya, entitled <em>The Palestinian–Israeli conflict: a disease for which
root causes must be acknowledged and treated</em>, we noted that hatred goes side by side with violence. Hatred self-perpetuates, usually through cycles of hatred and counter-hatred, violence and counter-violence — sometimes manifested as revenge.</p>
<p>Hatred has been studied for centuries by philosophers and theologians, and more recently by social psychologists, anthropologists and evolutionary scientists.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman stands beside a large mural of a young girl in a red dress" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402708/original/file-20210525-19-a4v0an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402708/original/file-20210525-19-a4v0an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402708/original/file-20210525-19-a4v0an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402708/original/file-20210525-19-a4v0an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402708/original/file-20210525-19-a4v0an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402708/original/file-20210525-19-a4v0an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402708/original/file-20210525-19-a4v0an.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A woman stands next to a mural during a protest in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of east Jerusalem, where several Palestinian families are under imminent threat of forcible eviction from their homes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/ Mahmoud Illean)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is no consensus on a definition of hatred that is scientific, comprehensive and holistic. </p>
<p>Hatred is more than just an emotion. Eric Halpern, an Israeli psychologist and political scientist, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0022002708314665">defined hatred</a> as “a negative emotion that motivates and may lead to negative behaviours with severe consequences.”</p>
<h2>Hatred is contagious</h2>
<p>Hatred can be conceptualized as an infectious disease, a determinant of health and a public health issue spreading violence, fear and ignorance. Hatred is contagious and crosses barriers and borders, and no one is immune to its risks.</p>
<p>Like traditional diseases, hatred is initially triggered by a causal agent or from harmful exposure. Once the exposure is manifested and incubated within the host, it can grow slowly over a period by continuous chronic exposure — or instantly by acute exposure.</p>
<p>As the harmful exposure starts to grow, it will start to negatively impact the host’s health and well-being. Based on the individual’s threshold for tolerance and resilience, either hatred could develop and spread, or hatred could be mitigated or prevented. If hatred is developed, the host will actively participate in an act of hatred that results in trauma and the spread of hatred to others.</p>
<p>Just like other diseases, hatred can also be contagious and hereditary with the ability to spread both horizontally (to those in proximity to you) and vertically (trans-generationally).</p>
<p>Hatred is a public health issue because it often engenders widespread physical, psychological or political violence.</p>
<p>The current violent civil or civil-military conflicts across the globe, many of which are either based on or fuelled by hatred, testify that hatred is a dangerous and contagious disease — at least metaphorically, but perhaps even literally.</p>
<h2>Harmful to health</h2>
<p>Some data suggests that the byproducts of hatred — such as stress, depression and anxiety — are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3653260/">associated with several health problems</a> other than injury and death.</p>
<p>Marshall Marinker, a British physician and researcher, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/mh.26.1.9">defined disease as a pathological process</a>, most often physical, sometimes undetermined in origin. In his book <em><a href="https://umassboston.on.worldcat.org/search?databaseList=&queryString=1586481665#/oclc/51280652">Hatred: the psychological descent into violence</a></em>, professor of clinical psychiatry Willard Gaylin suggests that hatred is a disease of the mind.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A police officer pushes away a crowd that includes a young child" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402710/original/file-20210525-13-aljx04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402710/original/file-20210525-13-aljx04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402710/original/file-20210525-13-aljx04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402710/original/file-20210525-13-aljx04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402710/original/file-20210525-13-aljx04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402710/original/file-20210525-13-aljx04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402710/original/file-20210525-13-aljx04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Israeli police and Palestinian protesters clash in Jerusalem’s Old City on May 18.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Hatred is also a disease of the human heart, soul and body. Hatred is a complex process that attacks humankind and becomes a community disease. Hatred is complex, discrete, involves destructive intent, is contagious to individuals, groups and communities and is often the result of exposure to harm. It is the result of chronic frustration leading to episodes of rage that go unaddressed.</p>
<p>Hatred has risk factors and causes that can be prevented from developing or modified and whose effects we must treat. Hatred has a negative physical and emotional impact that disturbs the <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-homeostasis/">homeostasis</a> and emotional equilibrium of an individual leading to physical, psychological, social and behavioural changes.</p>
<h2>Investigating the causes</h2>
<p>This is why there’s justification for dealing with hatred as a contagious disease, determinant of health and a pubic health issue by employing a public health approach investigating its societal characteristics and causes, and identifying modifiable risk factors, prevention and management strategies.</p>
<p>Understanding the psychological, pathological, physiological and neurobiological consequences of hatred suggests that the link to disease may not be just metaphorical, but literal and measurable for the individual experiencing it.</p>
<p>Hatred is a pressing public health issue demanding to be taken seriously by the medical community, the public, governments and other institutions. Hatred is an intense, destructive attitude. Its manifestations are war, disease, violence and cruelty, symptoms that compromise the health, welfare and functioning of human beings, both at the individual and population level.</p>
<p>The global community must recognize hatred as a public health issue in order to move from the management of hatred to the active prevention of its root causes through promotion, education and awareness. We must measure it and if unable to prevent it, mitigate it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161163/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Izzeldin Abuelaish does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Hate-inspired violence is the cause of conflict around the world. It’s time to consider hatred as a serious public health issue and even a disease so it can be treated — and possibly prevented.Izzeldin Abuelaish, Professor of Global Health, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1535852021-01-26T13:28:30Z2021-01-26T13:28:30ZIncitement to violence is rarely explicit – here are some techniques people use to breed hate<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380212/original/file-20210122-21-a1rbcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5279%2C3732&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dangerous speech is a toxic brew of emotion and age-old tropes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/microphone-in-focus-against-blurred-crowd-filming-royalty-free-image/874840118">Mihajlo Maricic / iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As senators plan for an impeachment trial in which former President Donald Trump is accused of <a href="https://theconversation.com/at-impeachment-hearing-lawmakers-will-deliberate-over-a-deadly-weapon-used-in-the-attack-on-capitol-hill-president-trumps-words-153074">inciting his supporters</a> to mount a deadly insurrection at the Capitol, global concern is growing about <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2020/06/18/covid-19-raises-the-risks-of-violent-conflict">threats of violent unrest in multiple countries</a>, <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/escalating-terrorism-problem-united-states">including the U.S.</a> The United Nations <a href="https://www.un.org/en/un75/new-era-conflict-and-violence">reports the proliferation of dangerous speech online</a> represents a “new era” in conflict. </p>
<p>Dangerous speech is defined as communication encouraging an audience to condone or inflict harm. Usually this harm is directed by an “ingroup” (us) against an “outgroup” (them) – though it can also provoke self-harm in suicide cults.</p>
<p>U.S. law reflects the assumption that dangerous speech must contain explicit calls to criminal action. But scholars who study speeches and propaganda that precede acts of violence find direct commands to violence are rare. </p>
<p>Other elements are more common. Here are some of the red flags.</p>
<h2>Firing up emotions</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379630/original/file-20210119-22-16maion.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Adolf Hitler, dressed in a business suit, giving a speech." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379630/original/file-20210119-22-16maion.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379630/original/file-20210119-22-16maion.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=820&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379630/original/file-20210119-22-16maion.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=820&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379630/original/file-20210119-22-16maion.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=820&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379630/original/file-20210119-22-16maion.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379630/original/file-20210119-22-16maion.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379630/original/file-20210119-22-16maion.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Adolf Hitler addresses the crowd, September 1930.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/AdolfHitlerSpeech1930/0922ae88764642bfbbc339c5384ad4ab">ASSOCIATED PRESS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Psychologists have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721415595023">analyzed the speeches of rousing leaders</a> like Hitler and Gandhi for their emotional content, assessing how much fear, joy, sadness and so on were present. They then tested whether the levels of emotion could predict whether a certain speech preceded violence or nonviolence.</p>
<p>They discovered the following emotions, particularly combined, could ignite violence:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Anger: The speaker gives the audience reasons to be angry, often pointing out who should be held responsible for that anger.</p></li>
<li><p>Contempt: The outgroup is deemed inferior to the ingroup, and thus unworthy of respect.</p></li>
<li><p>Disgust: The outgroup is described as so revolting they are undeserving of even basic humane treatment.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Constructing the threat</h2>
<p>By studying political speeches and propaganda that have inspired violence, <a href="https://dangerousspeech.org/dangerous-speech-dangerous-ideology/">researchers have identified themes</a> that can stir these powerful emotions. </p>
<p>Targets of dangerous speech <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/3/7/14456154/dehumanization-psychology-explained">are often dehumanized</a>, depicted as fundamentally lacking qualities – empathy, intelligence, values, abilities, self-control – at the core of being human. Commonly, outgroups are depicted as evil, due to their alleged lack of morality. Alternatively, they may be portrayed as animalistic or worse. During the Rwandan genocide, <a href="https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/73836">Tutsis were referred to as cockroaches</a> in Hutu propaganda.</p>
<p>To build a “<a href="http://www.robertjsternberg.com/hate">story of hate</a>,” a good guy is needed to counter the villain. So whatever dehumanizing quality is present in the outgroup, the opposite is present in the ingroup. If “they” are the Antichrist, “we” are the children of God. </p>
<p>Alleged past wrongdoings of the outgroup against the ingroup are used to position <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2016.1233873">the outgroup as a threat</a>. In cases of ongoing conflict between groups, such as between Israelis and Palestinians, there may well be examples of past wrongs on both sides. Effective dangerous speech omits, minimizes or justifies past wrongs by the ingroup members, while exacerbating past wrongs of the outgroup. </p>
<p>“<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.04.004">Competitive victimhood</a>” is used to portray the ingroup as the “real” victim – especially if ingroup “innocents” like women and children have been harmed by the outgroup. Sometimes past acts of the outgroups are fabricated and used as scapegoats for the ingroup’s past misfortunes. For instance, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-hitler-used-jews-failed-wwi-era-idealism-to-feed-the-worlds-worst-genocide/">Hitler blamed the Jews</a> for Germany losing World War I.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379778/original/file-20210120-13-1efd8j7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man with four huge machete scars across his face. Part of his ear is missing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379778/original/file-20210120-13-1efd8j7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379778/original/file-20210120-13-1efd8j7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379778/original/file-20210120-13-1efd8j7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379778/original/file-20210120-13-1efd8j7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379778/original/file-20210120-13-1efd8j7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379778/original/file-20210120-13-1efd8j7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379778/original/file-20210120-13-1efd8j7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A survivor of the Rwandan genocide, 1994.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-unidentified-tutsi-man-displays-slashes-on-his-face-and-news-photo/742727">Scott Peterson/Hulton Archive via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A particularly dangerous fabrication is when outgroups are accused of plotting against the ingroup the very deeds the ingroup is planning, if not actually committing, against the outgroup. Researchers coined the term “<a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2020327">accusations in a mirror</a>” after this strategy was explicitly described in a Hutu propaganda handbook following the Rwandan genocide.</p>
<h2>Disengaging one’s moral compass</h2>
<p>Effective dangerous speech gets people to <a href="https://www.macmillanlearning.com/college/us/product/Moral-Disengagement/p/1464160058">overcome internal resistance</a> to inflicting harm. </p>
<p>This can be accomplished by making it seem like no other options remain to defend the ingroup from the threat presented by the outgroup. Less extreme options are dismissed as exhausted or ineffective. The outgroup can’t be “saved.” </p>
<p>Simultaneously, speakers deploy “euphemistic labeling” to provide more palatable terms for violence, like “cleansing” or “defense” instead of “murder.” Or they may use “virtue-talk” to play up honor in fighting – and dishonor in not. After directing his followers to kill their children and themselves, cult leader Jim Jones called it “<a href="https://apnews.com/article/751b599824a144f4afb5cb5fe9cdd1c6">an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world</a>.” </p>
<p>Sometimes, the ingroup suffers from an illusion of invulnerability and does not even consider the possibility of negative consequences from their actions, because they are so confident in the righteousness of their group and cause. If thought is given to life post-violence, it is portrayed as only good for the ingroup. </p>
<p>By contrast, if the outgroup is allowed to remain, obtain control or enact their alleged devious plans, the future looks grim; it will mean the destruction of everything the ingroup holds dear, if not the end of the ingroup itself.</p>
<p>These are just some of the hallmarks of dangerous speech identified through decades of research by historians and <a href="https://youtu.be/gKk6AxtAEqo">social scientists</a> studying genocide, cults, intergroup conflict and propaganda. It is not an exhaustive list. Nor do all these elements need to be present for a speech to promote harm. There is also no guarantee the presence of these factors definitely leads to harm – just as there is no guarantee that smoking leads to cancer, though it certainly increases the risk. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://dangerousspeech.org/guide/">persuasiveness of a speech also depends on other variables</a>, like the charisma of the speaker, the receptivity of the audience, the medium by which the message is delivered and the context in which the message is being received. </p>
<p>However, the elements described above are warning signs a speech is intended to promote and justify inflicting harm. People can resist calls to violence by recognizing these themes. Prevention is possible. </p>
<p>[<em>Get our most insightful politics and election stories.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/politics-weekly-74/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=politics-most">Sign up for The Conversation’s Politics Weekly</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153585/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>H. Colleen Sinclair receives funding from the Department of Defense to study online threats.</span></em></p>Scholars who study dangerous speech have identified common themes that can lead to violence.H. Colleen Sinclair, Associate Professor of Social Psychology, Mississippi State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1481072020-11-09T19:07:46Z2020-11-09T19:07:46ZYoung people are exposed to more hate online during COVID. And it risks their health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365141/original/file-20201023-23-fcui1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C1000%2C660&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-boy-looking-mobile-phone-hand-464535629">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>COVID has led to children <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-kids-spending-more-waking-hours-on-screens-than-ever-heres-what-parents-need-to-worry-about-141261">spending more time</a> <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09291016.2020.1825284">on screens</a> using social networks, communication apps, chat rooms and online gaming. </p>
<p>While this has undoubtedly allowed them to keep in touch with friends, or connect with new ones, during the pandemic, they are also being exposed to <a href="https://l1ght.com/Toxicity_during_coronavirus_Report-L1ght.pdf">increased levels of online hate</a>. </p>
<p>That’s not just the bullying and harassment we often hear about. They’re also being exposed to everyday negativity — Twitter pile-ons, people demonising celebrities, or knee-jerk reactions lashing out at others — several times a day.</p>
<p>This risks normalising this type of online behaviour, and may also risk children’s mental health and well-being.</p>
<h2>What are children exposed to?</h2>
<p>Hate speech <a href="https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/UN%20Strategy%20and%20Plan%20of%20Action%20on%20Hate%20Speech%2018%20June%20SYNOPSIS.pdf">can consist of</a> comments, images or symbols that attack or use disapproving or discriminatory language about a person or group, on the basis of who they are.</p>
<p>It can even be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/oct/21/tiktok-expands-hate-speech-ban">coded language to spread hate</a>, as seen on the world’s most popular social platform for children, TikTok. For example, the number 14 refers to a 14-word-long white supremacist slogan.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tiktok-can-be-good-for-your-kids-if-you-follow-a-few-tips-to-stay-safe-144002">TikTok can be good for your kids if you follow a few tips to stay safe</a>
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<p>People can be exposed to hate speech directly, or witness it between others. And <a href="https://l1ght.com/Toxicity_during_coronavirus_Report-L1ght.pdf">one study</a>, which analysed millions of websites, popular teen chat sites and gaming sites, found children were exposed to much higher levels of online hate during the pandemic than before it.</p>
<p>The study, run by a company that uses artificial intelligence to detect and filter online content, found a 70% increase in hate between children and teens during online chats. It also found a 40% increase in toxicity among young gamers communicating using gaming chat.</p>
<p>Of particular note is the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1057610X.2020.1780027">rise of hate</a> on TikTok during the pandemic. TikTok has hundreds of millions of users, many of them children and teenagers. During the pandemic’s early stages, researchers saw a sharp spike in far-right extremist posts, including ideologies of fascism, racism, anti-Semitism, anti-immigration and xenophobia.</p>
<p>Children <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shahuneeza_Naseer/publication/342170161_COVID-19_Incubator_for_Online_Extremism/links/5ee71302458515814a5e9afd/COVID-19-Incubator-for-Online-Extremism.pdf">may also</a> inadvertently get caught up in online hate during times of uncertainty, such as a pandemic. This may be when the entire family may be in distress and children have long periods of unsupervised screen time.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/social-media-can-be-bad-for-youth-mental-health-but-there-are-ways-it-can-help-87613">Social media can be bad for youth mental health, but there are ways it can help</a>
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<h2>Witnessing hate normalises it</h2>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pops.12670">We know</a> the more derogatory language about immigrants and minority groups people are exposed to (online and offline), the more intergroup relations deteriorate.</p>
<p>This leads to empathy for others being replaced by contempt. Terms like “<a href="https://medium.com/predict/social-media-is-killing-individualism-d374d3d6a576">hive mind</a>” (being expected to conform to popular opinion online or risk being the target of hate) and “<a href="https://opinion.inquirer.net/124346/social-media-lynch-mobs">lynching</a>” (a coordinated social media celebrity hate storm) are now used to describe this online contempt.</p>
<p>Being exposed to hate speech also leads young people to become <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pops.12670">less sensitive</a> to hateful language.
The more hate speech a child observes, the less upset they are about it. <a href="https://hackinghate.eu/assets/documents/hacking-online-hate-research-report-1.pdf">They develop</a> a <em>laissez-faire</em> attitude, become indifferent, seeing hateful comments as jokes, minimising the impact, or linking hateful content to freedom of speech.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367370/original/file-20201104-17-1uxt1wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Teenage girls playing soccer outside, both trying to kick the ball." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367370/original/file-20201104-17-1uxt1wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367370/original/file-20201104-17-1uxt1wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367370/original/file-20201104-17-1uxt1wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367370/original/file-20201104-17-1uxt1wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367370/original/file-20201104-17-1uxt1wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367370/original/file-20201104-17-1uxt1wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367370/original/file-20201104-17-1uxt1wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">In real life, people are sent off the pitch for bad behaviour. But there is no such consequence in online gaming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kaposvar-hungary-july-20-unidentified-players-59762407">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>There is also little reputational or punitive risk involved with bad behaviour online. A child playing soccer might get sent off the field in a real-life sporting game for “flaming”, or “griefing” (deliberately irritating and harassing other players). But there is no such consequence in online gaming. </p>
<p>Social platforms, including <a href="https://www.facebook.com/communitystandards/hate_speech">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/community-guidelines?lang=en">TikTok</a>, have recently expanded their hate speech guidelines. These guidelines, however, cannot eradicate hate speech as their definitions are too narrow, allowing hate to seep through.</p>
<p>So kids are growing up learning “bad behaviour” online is tolerated, even expected. If what children see every day on their screen is people communicating with them badly, it becomes normalised and they are willing to accept it is part of life.</p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/technology-and-regulation-must-work-in-concert-to-combat-hate-speech-online-93072">Technology and regulation must work in concert to combat hate speech online</a>
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<h2>Witnessing hate affects children’s health and well-being</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/meghan-markle-prince-harry-crisis-of-hate-social-media_n_5f902e64c5b695a32faf3af0">Prince Harry</a> recently warned of a “global crisis of hate” on social media that affects people’s mental health.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1318714870209150978"}"></div></p>
<p>It impacts the mental health of all involved: those giving out the hate, those receiving it, and those observing it. </p>
<p>If a young person has negative, insulting attitudes or opinions, this is often put down to having <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00553/full">unresolved emotional issues</a>. However, channelling pent-up emotions into hate speech does not resolve these emotional issues. As hate posts can go viral, it can encourage more hate posts. </p>
<p>And for people who are exposed to this behaviour, this takes its toll.
The increased mental preparedness it takes to deal with or respond to microaggressions and hate translates into chronically elevated level of stress — so-called <a href="https://cihr.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/The-dynamics-of-hate-speech-and-counter-speech-in-the-social-media_English-1.pdf">low-grade toxic stress</a>. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/6-actions-australias-government-can-take-right-now-to-target-online-racism-118401">6 actions Australia's government can take right now to target online racism</a>
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<p>In the short term, too much <a href="https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/toxic-stress/tackling-toxic-stress/">low-grade toxic stress</a> lowers our mood and drains our energy, leaving us fatigued. Prolonged low-grade toxic stress can lead to adverse health outcomes, such as depression or anxiety, disruption of the development of brain architecture and other organ systems, and increases in the risk of stress-related disease and cognitive impairment, well into the adult years. </p>
<p>It can also cause a child to develop a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4074672/">low threshold for stress</a> throughout life. </p>
<p>Children growing up in already vulnerable, stressed environments <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4074672/">will be more impacted</a> by the stress they are also exposed to long-term online.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-kids-spending-more-waking-hours-on-screens-than-ever-heres-what-parents-need-to-worry-about-141261">With kids spending more waking hours on screens than ever, here's what parents need to worry about</a>
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<h2>What to do</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, we can’t eradicate hate online. But the more we understand why others post hate speech and the strategies they use to do this helps a child be more in control of their environment and therefore less impacted by it.</p>
<p>Hate speech is driven not only by negativity, but also by the simplicity in how groups are portrayed, for instance, boys are superior, girls are side-kicks. Teach children to notice over-simplicity and its use as a put-down strategy.</p>
<p>An aggressor (the one dishing out the hurt) can also easily hide behind a non-identifying pseudonym or username. This type of anonymity allows people to separate themselves from who they are in real life. It makes them feel free to use hostility and criticism as a viable way of dealing with their pain, or unresolved issues. Teach your child to be aware of this.</p>
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<p><em>Resources on the impact of <a href="https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/toxic-stress/tackling-toxic-stress/">toxic stress</a> on young people, <a href="https://www.ditchthelabel.org/">mental health support</a> and what to do if you experience or witness <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/young-people/online-hate">online hate</a> are available for parents and children.</em></p>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone
you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanne Orlando does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Twitter pile-ons, online celebrity bashing, or knee-jerk reactions are part of an increasingly toxic environment children are being exposed to that risks normalising hate.Joanne Orlando, Researcher: Children and Technology, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1476442020-10-14T18:11:48Z2020-10-14T18:11:48Z‘Caliphate’ podcast and its fallout reveal the extent of Islamophobia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363493/original/file-20201014-13-1yszdjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6536%2C4362&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An anti-Islamic protester during a demonstration at Toronto City Hall on March 4, 2017.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Sept. 25, the RCMP <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7350363/rcmp-arrests-abu-huzayfah-for-faking-past/">arrested Shehroze Chaudhry</a>, a Muslim man, for allegedly fabricating his affiliation with the Islamic State group (ISIS). Chaudhry — popularly referred to by his supposed nom de guerre, Abu Huzayfah — had been the subject of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/02/canada-isis-killer-story-police-hoax">numerous news stories</a> since 2017. </p>
<p>Most notably, in 2018, Chaudhry was the focus of Rukmini Callimachi’s award-winning <em>New York Times</em> podcast, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/podcasts/caliphate-isis-rukmini-callimachi.html"><em>Caliphate</em></a>. In it Chaudhry provided graphic details of his role within ISIS, the veracity of which is now being questioned. Chaudhry had previously been interrogated about his involvement with ISIS by Canadian national security agencies but was not charged. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, Callimachi’s misleading reporting at the <em>Times</em> prompted <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/house/sitting-297/hansard">debates in Parliament</a>, raising fears about an “ISIS terrorist” and “despicable animal … freely walking the streets of Toronto.”</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">CBC News interviewed Rukmini Callimachi in 2018 about Shehroze Chaudhry’s changing story.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The ensuing <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/tories-want-action-against-self-confessed-isis-recruit-reportedly-living-in-toronto-1.3926046">media attention</a> fed into <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6035676/ipsos-poll-detained-isis-fighters/">panic about the risk posed by returning “foreign fighters,”</a> individuals — mainly Muslim women and men — who travelled to Iraq and Syria to support ISIS. </p>
<p>In response to the <em>Times</em> podcast, the Canadian government <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/his-confession-about-being-an-isis-executioner-enraged-canadians-now-police-say-he-made-it-up-1.5126981">reversed plans to repatriate Canadian foreign fighters</a> and their families detained in Kurdish-controlled Syrian prison camps.</p>
<h2>Callimachi’s gaffe is a symptom</h2>
<p>Chaudhry’s case has raised questions about the <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/his-confession-about-being-an-isis-executioner-enraged-canadians-now-police-say-he-made-it-up-1.5126981">abruptness of his arrest</a>, the <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/caliphate-huzayfah-times-callimachi-isis.html">merit of a terrorism hoax charge</a>, the substantial <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/159561/rukmini-callimachi-fooled-fake-terrorist">role of the media in the War on Terror</a> and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2020/06/29/bring-me-back-canada/plight-canadians-held-northeast-syria-alleged-isis-links">Canada’s obligations to its citizens, including 26 children, held in Syrian prison camps</a>. </p>
<p>But the reporting and policy reaction to Chaudhry’s alleged falsehoods reveals a sociopolitical climate where a different standard is applied to the threat posed by Muslims. Chaudhry’s case is not an outlier, but rather a symptom of the system. Callimachi’s faux pas is then just another story of Islamophobia.</p>
<p>Edward Said introduced the concept of <a href="https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/05/20/orientalism-then-and-now/">Orientalism</a> to capture how western societies imagine and produce reductive and racist representations of Muslims and Arabs. Our research on national security policies in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/S1521-613620200000025007">Canada</a> and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13047">United Kingdom</a> suggests that Islamophobia informs and legitimizes an Orientalist approach in the reporting of Muslim terrorism suspects and produces racialized national security policies.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-arabian-nights-stories-morphed-into-stereotypes-123983">How the Arabian Nights stories morphed into stereotypes</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<h2>Islamophobia is more than hate</h2>
<p>Chaudhry’s case reveals how Islamophobia operates beyond individualized instances of discrimination against Muslims. The view that Islamophobia is merely an “irrational fear of Muslims,” as a <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/421/CHPC/Reports/RP9315686/chpcrp10/chpcrp10-e.pdf">2018 report by the House of Commons suggests</a>, is simplistic and outdated. </p>
<p>According to legal scholars <a href="https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/unblj/article/view/29035/1882524225">Reem Bahdi and Azeezah Kanji</a>, Islamophobia “is historically rooted in Orientalism, draws on and perpetuates stereotypes about a Muslim propensity for violence, … is state-driven and persists through a dialectical process of private and state action.” </p>
<p>In our research, we outline how Muslims are racialized through the War on Terror: “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0306396820951055">appearance as well as expressions attributed to Muslim bodies and Islam are framed within a social order which sees these as backward, foreign and threatening</a>.”</p>
<p>Rather than abstract disdain for Islam or Muslims, Islamophobia manifests as “<a href="https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745399577/what-is-islamophobia/">concrete social action</a>” by the national security industry, populist politicians, journalists, experts, think tanks and others who benefit from portraying Muslims as “<a href="https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/unblj/article/view/29035/1882524225">inherently violent … alien and inassimilable</a>.” </p>
<p>In this, any political movement connected to — or perceived as connected to — Islam is not only viewed as antithetical to democracy, but as a threat to democracy’s very existence. This Islamophobia was especially evident in coverage by Callimachi, whose success skyrocketed after the <em>Caliphate</em> podcast.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/Brn5RnsjPqQ","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Muslims and risk</h2>
<p>Islamophobia is useful to understand how the dangerousness and riskiness of Muslims is constructed. </p>
<p>First, Muslim beliefs and actions are thought to present the potential of regressiveness and violence. This establishes the basis of “<a href="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/%7Esj6/mamdanigoodmuslimbadmuslim.pdf">good Muslim, bad Muslim</a>”: Muslims are considered “good” if they integrate and continuously perform their role as model citizens. But their potential of becoming a “bad” Muslim — who could radicalize toward terrorism — is never fully eradicated. </p>
<p>Through this lens, despite <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/isis-canadian-recruit-returns-1.4281860">interrogations</a> by Canadian authorities and journalists, Chaudhry was presented as an ISIS terrorist before ever being charged.</p>
<p>Second, Islamophobia represents Muslims as “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512109102435">dangerous internal foreigners</a>,” whose rights can be overlooked in the name of national security. This explains why Canadian Muslims in Syrian prisons are not even considered <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7108763/returning-canadians-isis-suspects-rights-group/">worthy of repatriation</a> to stand trial. </p>
<p>Finally, the Orientalist framing of the bad Muslim is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17539153.2016.1178485">the basis of counterterrorism practice</a> — and perpetuated by academic scholarship — reinforcing the status of Muslims as a “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17539153.2013.867714">suspect community</a>.”</p>
<h2>The media in the War on Terror</h2>
<p>Today, national governments, media conglomerates and security industries profit from the potential of catastrophe, and so perpetuate a present that is always “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2017.1362028">at-risk</a>.” </p>
<p>News coverage plays a significant role in normalizing constant risk; counterterrorism and counter-extremism institutions rely on this to establish their legitimacy among the public.</p>
<p>The media’s role in advancing Islamophobia cannot be understated. Media narratives that portray Muslims in <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.487.591&rep=rep1&type=pdf">dehumanizing</a> and <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/1748048516656305">violent</a> terms establish public consensus about the danger of Muslims. </p>
<p>Incidences of terrorism by Muslim perpetrators <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/rel9090274">receive more media attention and their motivations are linked to their ethnic and religious background</a>. This feeds into a “<a href="https://haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultural-theory-and-theorists/moral-panics/">moral panic</a>” around Muslims, where media sensationalism and governments stigmatize Muslims as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1741659007087270">deviant and a threat to social and moral order</a>. </p>
<p>Chaudhry’s case is not about an <a href="https://sahelblog.wordpress.com/2020/10/02/rukmini-callimachis-broken-clock-moment-in-timbuktu/">ignorant</a> or <a href="https://thebaffler.com/alienated/stalking-the-story">irresponsible</a> reporter telling a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/09/new-york-times-has-its-hands-full-with-review-caliphate/">poorly fact-checked story</a>. It is about the complicity of media and governments in vilifying Muslims to the point that it is reasonable to paint Muslims as terrorists before they ever stand trial. </p>
<p>Chaudhry’s alleged hoax — from its rise to an award-winning <em>New York Times</em> story to affecting Canadian national security policy — reveals a lot about Islamophobia today. This is the same Islamophobia that dehumanizes Canadian Muslims and casts them as potentially dangerous.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/islamophobia-and-hate-crimes-continue-to-rise-in-canada-110635">Islamophobia and hate crimes continue to rise in Canada</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Ultimately, Islamophobia presents real harm to Muslims. It emboldens deadly anti-Muslim violence as seen in the <a href="https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/quebec-city-mosque-shooting">2017 Quebec City mosque shootings</a>, the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/mosque-stabbing-suspect-1.5732078">murder of Mohamed-Aslim Zafis</a> and most recently the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/downtown-toronto-mosque-shut-down-violent-messages-police-investigating-muslims-council-1.5759840">violent threats made against a Toronto mosque</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147644/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fahad Ahmad receives funding from SSHRC and the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tarek Younis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The need for security agencies and the media to view and present Islam and Muslims as constant potential threats feeds into a dangerously violent and deadly Islamophobia.Fahad Ahmad, PhD Candidate in Public Policy, Carleton UniversityTarek Younis, Lecturer, Psychology, Middlesex UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1459832020-09-28T19:36:27Z2020-09-28T19:36:27ZFox News uses the word ‘hate’ much more than MSNBC or CNN<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359900/original/file-20200924-17-1km323d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C51%2C1440%2C773&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tucker Carlson is a big fan of the phrase 'they hate.' Usually, he's talking about Democrats.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp71VWgqURQ">YouTube</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>`Fox News is up to five times more likely to use the word “hate” in its programming than its main competitors, <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1255/Hate_on_Fox_News_draft_report_9-28-20.pdf?1601308357">according to our new study of how cable news channels use language</a>. </p>
<p>Fox particularly uses the term when explaining opposition to Donald Trump. His opponents are said to “hate” Trump, his values and his followers. </p>
<p>Our research, which ran from Jan. 1 to May 8, 2020, initially explored news of Trump’s impeachment. Then came the coronavirus. As we sifted through hundreds of cable news transcripts over five months, we noticed consistent differences between the vocabulary used on Fox News and that of MSNBC.</p>
<p>While their news agendas were largely similar, the words they used to describe these newsworthy events diverged greatly. </p>
<h2>Fox and hate</h2>
<p>For our study, we analyzed 1,088 program transcripts from the two ideologically branded channels – right-wing Fox and left-wing MSNBC – between 6 p.m. and 10:59 p.m.</p>
<p>Because polarized media diets <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-partisan-pandemic-do-we-now-live-in-alternative-realities-140290">contribute to partisan conflict</a>, our quantitative analysis identified terms indicating antipathy or resentment, such as “dislike,” “despise,” “can’t stand” and “hate.” </p>
<p>We expected to find that both of the strongly ideological networks made use of such words, perhaps in different ways. Instead, we found that Fox used antipathy words five times more often than MSNBC. “Hate” really stood out: It appeared 647 times on Fox, compared to 118 on MSNBC. </p>
<p>Fox usually pairs certain words alongside “hate.” The most notable was “they” – as in, “they hate.” Fox used this phrase 101 times between January and May. MSNBC used it just five times. </p>
<p>To put these findings in historic context, we then used the <a href="https://blog.gdeltproject.org/gdelt-2-0-television-api-debuts/">GDELT Television database</a> to search for occurrences of the phrase “they hate” on both networks going back to 2009. We included CNN for an additional comparison. </p>
<p>We found Fox’s usage of “they hate” has increased over time, with a clear spike around the polarizing 2016 Trump-Clinton election. But Fox’s use of “hate” really took off when Trump’s presidency began. Beginning in January 2017, the mean usage of “they hate” on the network doubled. </p>
<p><iframe id="v0I03" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/v0I03/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>‘Us’ versus ‘them’</h2>
<p>So who is doing all this hating – and why – according to Fox News? </p>
<p>Mainly, it’s Democrats, liberals, political elites and the media. Though these groups do not actually have the same interests, ideology or job description, our analysis finds Fox lumps them together as the “they” in “they hate.”</p>
<p><iframe id="WYK4i" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/WYK4i/6/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>As for the object of all this hatred, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and other Fox hosts most often name Trump. Anchors also identify their audience – “you,” “Christians” and “us” – as the target of animosity. Only 13 instances of “they hate” also cited a reason. Examples included “they can’t accept the fact that he won” or “because we voted for [Trump].”</p>
<p><iframe id="bGe9m" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/bGe9m/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Citing liberal hate as a fact that needs no explanation serves to dismiss criticism of specific policies or events. It paints criticism or moral outrage directed at Trump as inherently irrational. </p>
<p>For loyal Fox viewers, these <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/09/fox-news-trump-language-stelter-hoax/616309/">language patterns construct a coherent</a> but potentially dangerous narrative about the world. </p>
<p>Our data show intensely partisan hosts like Hannity and Carlson are <a href="https://api.gdeltproject.org/api/v2/tv/tv?format=html&startdatetime=20170101000000&last24=yes&query=%22they%20hate%22%20(station:CNN%20OR%20station:FOXNEWS%20OR%20station:MSNBC%20)%20&mode=showchart">more likely than other Fox anchors to use “they hate”</a> in this way. Nevertheless, the phrase permeates Fox’s evening programming, uttered by hosts, interviewees and Republican sources, all <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/24/right-wing-websites-are-demonizing-antifa-heres-how-they-portray-threat/">painting Trump critics not as legitimate opponents but hateful enemies working in bad faith</a>. </p>
<p>By repeatedly telling its viewers they are bound together as objects of the contempt of a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2018.1548412">powerful and hateful left-leaning “elite</a>,” Fox has constructed two <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03637751.2017.1336779">imagined communities</a>. On the one side: Trump along with good folks under siege. On the other: nefarious Democrats, liberals, the left and mainstream media.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v1i1.96">Research confirms</a> that repeated exposure to polarized media messages can lead news consumers to form firm opinions and can foster what’s called an <a href="https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/in-group-bias/">“in-group” identity</a>. The us-versus-them mentality, in turn, deepens feelings of antipathy toward the perceived “out-group.”</p>
<p>The Pew Research Center reports an increasing tendency, especially among Republicans, to <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/10/10/partisan-antipathy-more-intense-more-personal/">view members of the other party as immoral and unpatriotic</a>. Pew also finds <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/08/five-facts-about-fox-news/">Republicans trust Fox News more than any other media outlet</a>.</p>
<p>Americans’ <a href="https://www.journalism.org/2020/01/24/u-s-media-polarization-and-the-2020-election-a-nation-divided/">divergent media sources</a> – and specifically Fox’s “hate”-filled rhetoric – aren’t solely to blame here. Cable news is part of a <a href="https://www.moreincommon.com/media/0fmblxb3/the-perception-gap.pdf">larger picture</a> of <a href="http://www.apsanet.org/portals/54/Files/Task%20Force%20Reports/Chapter2Mansbridge.pdf">heightened polarization</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261379415001857">intense partisanship</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/09/11/coronavirus-relief-congress-economy/">paralysis in Congress</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359901/original/file-20200924-14-11jn5sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Screenshot of Sean Hannity on Fox News with text reading 'Hate & Hysteria' across the Democratic donkey symbol" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359901/original/file-20200924-14-11jn5sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359901/original/file-20200924-14-11jn5sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359901/original/file-20200924-14-11jn5sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359901/original/file-20200924-14-11jn5sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359901/original/file-20200924-14-11jn5sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359901/original/file-20200924-14-11jn5sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359901/original/file-20200924-14-11jn5sn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sean Hannity portrays criticism of Donald Trump as hate-based.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C49DUbjCqO8">YouTube/Fox News</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Good business</h2>
<p>Leaning into intense partisanship has been good for Fox News, though. In summer 2020 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-ratings-most-watched-channel-summer-2020-primetime-2020-9?r=DE&IR=T">it was the country’s most watched network</a>. But using hate to explain the news is a dangerous business plan when shared crises <a href="http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp20023.pdf">demand Americans’ empathy, negotiation and compromise</a>. </p>
<p>Fox’s talk of hate undermines <a href="https://voxeu.org/article/civic-capital-and-social-distancing">democratic values like tolerance</a> and reduces <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-paradoxical-role-of-social-capital-in-the-coronavirus-pandemic">Americans’ trust of their fellow citizens</a>. </p>
<p>This fraying of social ties helps explain America’s failures in managing the pandemic – and bodes badly for its handling of what seems likely to be a chaotic, divisive presidential election. In pitting its viewers against the rest of the country, Fox News works against potential solutions to the the very crises it covers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145983/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The conservative cable news channel particularly favors the term when explaining opposition to Donald Trump. This framing of the news can lead Fox viewers to see the world as us versus them.Curd Knüpfer, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Freie Universität BerlinRobert Mathew Entman, J.B. and M.C. Shapiro Professor Emeritus of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1309842020-02-27T14:02:50Z2020-02-27T14:02:50Z4 science-based strategies to tame angry political debate and encourage tolerance<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315531/original/file-20200214-11000-zm7uyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4688%2C3100&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The vast majority of Americans are sick and tired of being so divided.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/concept-debate-political-argument-symbol-two-463236158">Lightspring/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Climate change is a hoax,” my cousin said during a family birthday party. “I saw on Twitter it’s just a way to get people to buy expensive electric cars.” I sighed while thinking, “How can he be so misinformed?” Indeed, what I wanted to say was, “Good grief, social media lies are all you read.” </p>
<p>No doubt my cousin thought the same of me, when I said Republican senators are too afraid of the president to do what’s right. Not wanting to create a scene, we let each other’s statements slide by in icy silence. </p>
<p>As a psychology professor and clinical psychologist in private practice, I know my relationship with my cousin would have improved if we could have discussed those issues in a nonthreatening way. If only.</p>
<p>I’m not alone in my frustration – and my desire for change. A December 2019 poll conducted by Public Agenda/USA TODAY/Ipsos showed <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/hiddencommonground/2019/12/05/hidden-common-ground-americans-divided-politics-seek-civility/4282301002/">more than nine out of 10 Americans</a> said it’s time to reduce divisiveness, which they believe is exacerbated by government leaders and social media. People want to stop the animosity and relate to one another again. But how?</p>
<p>Based on my knowledge of psychological research, here are four approaches you can use to overcome divisiveness.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315533/original/file-20200214-10991-18fz2ev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315533/original/file-20200214-10991-18fz2ev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315533/original/file-20200214-10991-18fz2ev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315533/original/file-20200214-10991-18fz2ev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315533/original/file-20200214-10991-18fz2ev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315533/original/file-20200214-10991-18fz2ev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315533/original/file-20200214-10991-18fz2ev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315533/original/file-20200214-10991-18fz2ev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Don’t isolate yourself from people with different points of view.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-diverse-people-planting-tree-together-604302530">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1. Connect</h2>
<p>Avoiding interactions with people who have different opinions <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfw001">perpetuates divisiveness</a>. Risk connecting with these people. Relate through activities you enjoy such as volunteering, joining a “<a href="https://meetup.com">Meetup</a>” group or starting a book club. You could even invite people from various backgrounds to a potluck dinner at your home. </p>
<p>What activities like these share is a common goal, which creates a cooperative atmosphere instead of a competitive one. Research demonstrates that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/002200276200600108">contact alone does not ensure cooperative interaction</a>. To truly connect, you both have to demonstrate respect while working on a common goal.</p>
<h2>2. Find common ground</h2>
<p>It’s important to remember the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0030-5073(76)90020-9">basic need to feel secure</a> is shared by all people. Focusing on commonalities can lead to a deeper understanding of another person, while focusing on differences will lead to arguments. </p>
<p>An argument involves two people asserting one is right while the other is wrong. But what gets lost in this scenario is the common ground of the problem they both are trying to wrestle with. </p>
<p>Restate the problem. Together, brainstorm all the different ways it might be solved. </p>
<p>For example, a person might say the only way to protect America from terrorism is to sharply limit immigration. Instead of challenging that immigration must be limited, you can restate the problem – then ask if there might be ways to deal with terrorism besides limiting immigration. You might find some solutions you agree upon. </p>
<h2>3. Communicate</h2>
<p>Listen more and talk less. Show the other person you have understood what they said before jumping in with your thoughts. </p>
<p>Everyone wants to be acknowledged as heard. If they are not, they will continue to press their point. So, to stop an argument in its tracks, start listening and reflect back what you’ve heard.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315536/original/file-20200214-10991-1eq4ksd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315536/original/file-20200214-10991-1eq4ksd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315536/original/file-20200214-10991-1eq4ksd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315536/original/file-20200214-10991-1eq4ksd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315536/original/file-20200214-10991-1eq4ksd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315536/original/file-20200214-10991-1eq4ksd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315536/original/file-20200214-10991-1eq4ksd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315536/original/file-20200214-10991-1eq4ksd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s tempting to tune out, but don’t.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-young-guys-friends-beards-arguing-1299444667">Fran jetzt/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You’ve probably experienced listening for only what you want to hear – and possibly found yourself not listening at all. You may just be waiting to give a knee-jerk reaction to what the other person is saying. </p>
<p>To listen well, you need to first open your ears, eyes and heart. Examine your biases so you can hear without judgment. Suspend your self-interest and stay with what the other person is saying. Then tell that person what you heard.</p>
<p>Showing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037%2Fa0036738">empathy does not mean you necessarily agree</a> with what the other person is saying. It just means you’re reassuring the other person you have listened before making your own statement. </p>
<p>Now, it’s time for you to share where you’re coming from. Take a deep breath. Cool down and reassess your thoughts so you can give a considered response, instead of a quick reaction. You can disagree without being disrespectful.</p>
<p>Communication using the above process leads to a conversation instead of an argument and builds a more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01449290310001659240">trusting relationship</a>. It takes only one of you to create an empathetic conversation, as <a href="https://booklocker.com/books/9605.html">empathy begets empathy</a>. The more compassionate understanding you give, the more you get.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315538/original/file-20200214-10995-2gnhs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315538/original/file-20200214-10995-2gnhs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315538/original/file-20200214-10995-2gnhs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315538/original/file-20200214-10995-2gnhs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315538/original/file-20200214-10995-2gnhs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315538/original/file-20200214-10995-2gnhs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315538/original/file-20200214-10995-2gnhs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315538/original/file-20200214-10995-2gnhs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Be skeptical and recognize when you are being manipulated by divisive content.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-portrait-upset-sad-skeptical-unhappy-464427374">eakkaluktemwanich/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<h2>4. Learn to critically evaluate media</h2>
<p>Don’t passively accept all that you see and hear. There are <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-to-combat-fake-news-and-disinformation/">too many sources</a> of distorted facts, unsupported opinions and outright lies available today. Critically evaluate what is being presented by considering the source and fact-checking the content.</p>
<p>Above all, if the message seems fake, don’t share it. Google has a <a href="https://toolbox.google.com/factcheck/explorer">fact-checking tool</a>, and <a href="https://firstdraftnews.org/training/">First Draft News</a> has tools to evaluate false content and the way it is disseminated. You can also consult <a href="https://fullfact.org">Full Fact</a> and <a href="https://guides.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/c.php?g=618074&p=4300850">CUNY’s fact-checking guide</a>. So, when you hear or see someone sharing fake information, don’t challenge it. Instead, show how to fact check the information.</p>
<p>Avoid anger and hate in the content you consume. Evaluate whether it is seeking to pit you against another person or group. Follow media that supports empathy, compassion and understanding. But don’t get lulled into a bubble by reading only content you agree with. Help children and teens, not only to critically evaluate media, but also to become kind and caring toward people who are different from them. Teach tolerance by showing tolerance. Yes, you are only one person trying to create change, but your influence does matter. </p>
<p>As for me, the next time I see my cousin, I plan to listen with empathy; let him know I understand his point of view; and try to identify a common goal around which we can share our perspectives.</p>
<p>[ <em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130984/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Beverly B. Palmer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A psychologist explains how to reestablish civil political conversation in your own life.Beverly B. Palmer, Professor Emerita of Psychology, California State University, Dominguez HillsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1146672019-04-09T18:02:38Z2019-04-09T18:02:38ZThe lesson of ‘The White Ribbon’ for today: How tolerant societies can drift into hatred<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268170/original/file-20190408-2924-o8jkaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C4%2C1022%2C761&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Graffiti probably Banksy, denouncing the conditions in which prisoners have been detained in Guantanamo.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/eadmundo/50033762/">Photo Eadmundo</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It has been nearly 10 years since the release of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/nov/12/the-white-ribbon-review"><em>The White Ribbon</em></a>, by Austrian director Michael Haneke. The film is set in the summer of 1914 in a small Protestant village in northern Germany. Once-tranquil, it has been troubled by a series of mysterious, violent acts, including vandalism, arson and beatings. </p>
<p>Though local children are suspected of being the culprits, the crimes remain unsolved by the community – and therefore unaddressed. As the film ends, the village is overtaken by the news of Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination and the start of the conflict that would become World War I.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption"><em>The White Ribbon</em>, trailer (Michel Haneke, 2009).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Why is <em>The White Ribbon</em> so relevant today? Through a well-crafted metaphor, it addresses the rise of intolerance within a single lifespan. A quarter-century later, the generation that the village residents represent would come to constitute the bulk of the Third Reich, as so chillingly described in Daniel Jonah Goldhagen’s 1997 history, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/68841/hitlers-willing-executioners-by-daniel-jonah-goldhagen/9780679772682"><em>Hitler’s Willing Executioners</em></a>.</p>
<p>Similarly, Haneke’s earlier whodunit, <em>Caché</em> (2005), was really about the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09639489.2011.588792">French colonisation of Algeria</a>. In a review of the film after its release, the daily <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2005/10/04/cache-les-racines-historiques-de-la-barbarie_695624_3476.html"><em>Le Monde</em></a> wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Haneke seems to depict a civilised world from which all barbarism has been expelled, but what really asserts itself in his cinema is that its eradication – whether or not an admitted utopia of contemporary Western society – could be just another way for it to come back.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the post-9/11 era in which we live, with societies around the world being increasingly overtaken by intolerance, a similar self-reflection is required.</p>
<p>What indeed is the genesis of societal, not merely group, radicalisation? How and when does a previously tolerant and civil community drift into ways of interaction – toward each other and also outsiders – that can be described as extremist? What can be done when one observes the slow-motion <a href="https://www.letemps.ch/opinions/retour-racisme">proliferation and acceptance of hate</a>? As in Haneke’s allegorical film, such a transformation can take place within a single generation. It is also one urged forward by the collapse of education, the hijacking of knowledge and, more problematically, political and ethical passivity.</p>
<h2>A new type of witch hunt</h2>
<p>While 9/11 has certainly been overemphasised in terms of its novelty in international affairs, it is nonetheless the opening salvo in this sequence.</p>
<p>As vividly shown in the human-rights abuses in the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons and the <a href="http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/03/poll-majority-of-americans-okay-with-torture.html">rationalisation of torture</a>, 9/11 led to the introduction of the key components of this new socialisation in-the-making: the <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-new-american-militarism-9780199931767">militarisation of international affairs</a>, the <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479876594/the-securitization-of-society/">securitisation of society</a>, the <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/rogue-justice-9780804138239">violation of the rule of law</a>, the normalisation of <a href="https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745337166/the-islamophobia-industry-second-edition/">discriminatory discourse and practice</a> and global surveillance. In time came the rise of a wave of <a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/authoritarianism-goes-global">neo-authoritarianism</a> underwritten by the monetisation of democracy as explained by Jane Mayer in <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/215462/dark-money-by-jane-mayer/9780307947901/"><em>Dark Money</em></a>, which details how some of the ultra-rich have been pouring money into the American “alt-right” extremists.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption"><em>The Secrets of Abu Ghraib prison</em>, CBS (2009).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>All along, the lethal transnational terrorism of <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/T/bo27405381.html">Al Qaeda and the Islamic State</a> and social science research that concentrated near-exclusively on the violence of Islamist armed groups allowed for the development of repressive public policies and a drift into a new type of witch-hunt populism that became more and more politically acceptable. These remained less seen because they are in effect more widely present and more problematic, and thus harder to pin down. </p>
<h2>The normalisation of hate speech</h2>
<p>In such a context, the near-normalisation of hate speech has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/in-the-united-states-right-wing-violence-is-on-the-rise/2018/11/25/61f7f24a-deb4-11e8-85df-7a6b4d25cfbb_story.html">elevated the extremism of groups</a> to a point where anti-racist militants find themselves on the defensive, while saying the unsayable has become just another opinion.</p>
<p>On January 27, 2017, just seven days into his presidency and quite symbolically at the occasion of the Holocaust Remembrance Day, US President Donald Trump signed <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-protecting-nation-foreign-terrorist-entry-united-states/">Executive Order 13769</a>, commonly referred to as the “Muslim ban”, a ruling later upheld by the US Supreme Court, which introduced formally a discrimination against individuals on the basis of their religion.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267595/original/file-20190404-123395-1k2sxqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267595/original/file-20190404-123395-1k2sxqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267595/original/file-20190404-123395-1k2sxqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267595/original/file-20190404-123395-1k2sxqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267595/original/file-20190404-123395-1k2sxqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267595/original/file-20190404-123395-1k2sxqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267595/original/file-20190404-123395-1k2sxqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protest against Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’, Minneapolis, Minn., January 31, 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fibonacciblue/32600494826">Fibonacci Blue/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The crucial opening of such space was then occupied tactically by extremists to further broadcast their views. Neo-Nazis and KKK militants held a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August that year, openly promoting white supremacy. When one of those white nationalists rammed his car into a group of counter-protestors, killing one woman, President Trump expressed the view that there were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/us/politics/trump-charlottesville-white-nationalists.html">“very fine people on both sides”</a>.</p>
<p>More than ever in recent years, particularly in Western societies, more people are increasingly listening to right-wing views that speak the language of identity, culture and religion – a lethal trend also playing out in non-Western societies such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/kashmir-india-and-pakistans-escalating-conflict-will-benefit-narendra-modi-ahead-of-elections-112570">India</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/rightist-bolsonaro-takes-office-in-brazil-promising-populist-change-to-angry-voters-106303">Brazil</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/israel-how-benny-gantzs-campaign-has-turned-state-violence-and-dead-palestinians-into-political-capital-113145">Israel</a>.</p>
<p>Ironically, the intolerant and anti-democratic ideology of violent groups that targeted the West in the 2000s is in the 2010s becoming the vernacular of this same Western world. It is now reproducing high levels of racism in its very midst – racist views that in turn generate right-wing terrorism such as the killing of 50 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2019.</p>
<p>As these societies tolerate such views in their midst while talking about the violent extremism of others, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/27/europe/paris-fake-kidnapping-scli-intl/index.html">their own radicalisation escapes them</a>.</p>
<h2>Italy, Germany, the US and France</h2>
<p>Among others nations, Italy, Germany, the United States and France are at the forefront of this disturbing new sequence. Celebrated by the <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/what-a-white-supremacist-told-me-after-donald-trump-was-elected">Ku Klux Klan</a>, the election of President Donald Trump did not so much launch this trend but brought out into the open dystrophies playing out over the past 15 years.</p>
<p>Racism is the most visible one. It takes the shape of Islamophobia, <a href="https://www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/racism-america-black-african-american-culture-news-latest-world-news-today-20126/">anti-Black</a>, anti-Semitism or anti-Latino sentiments and grows among average citizens who say they are <a href="http://time.com/5388356/our-racist-soul/">“comfortable with racism”</a>. Yet the term <em>extremism</em> is rarely used in this context, reserved primarily for radical Islamism.</p>
<p>In France, the socioeconomic malaise of the past years has given birth to a nationwide movement, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-frances-gilets-jaunes-protesters-are-so-angry-108100">“gilets jaunes”</a> (yellow vests). While its right-wing tendencies are <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/152853/ugly-illiberal-anti-semitic-heart-yellow-vest-movement">tangible</a>, the movement is generally depicted as a group of ordinary, disenfranchised citizens threatened by globalisation whose violence is thus <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4242-understanding-the-gilets-jaunes">“understandable”</a>.</p>
<p>All along, the forceful drive of overtly racist leaders – Hungary’s Victor Orbán, the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte or Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro – was matched only by the tepidity of the societal reaction to the views that have been materialising amidst this global zeitgeist of intolerance.</p>
<h2>Troubling signs</h2>
<p>What this mid-to-late 2010s sequence may well spell is that the 2020s can easily come to cement this radicalisation of societies.</p>
<p>The rise of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/in-the-united-states-right-wing-violence-is-on-the-rise/2018/11/25/61f7f24a-deb4-11e8-85df-7a6b4d25cfbb_story.html">right-wing terrorism</a>, the proliferation of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/28/italys-intelligence-agency-warns-of-rise-in-racist-attacks">attacks on migrants</a>, the redefinition of populism as a benign expression of anti-elitism, the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/italy-bannon-backed-populists-academy-draws-criticism-190303111226073.html">rewriting of school books and curricula</a> and indeed new-old techniques such as Italian politicians’ <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/02/27/according-to-italys-leaders-rap-music-is-un-italian-sanremo-mahmood-m5s-salvini-di-maio-league/">criminalisation of art forms such as rap</a> are tell-tale signs that the current moment of global animosity continues to forge ahead dangerously – as it did, unchecked, a century ago.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114667/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Michael Haneke’s allegorical 2009 film showed how a peaceful society can be shattered within a single generation. It’s a lesson for us now in a world drifting toward populism and violence.Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou, Professor of International History, Graduate Institute – Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1137852019-03-18T17:22:20Z2019-03-18T17:22:20ZFour ways social media platforms could stop the spread of hateful content in aftermath of terror attacks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264460/original/file-20190318-28502-irx4gz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/1031490694?size=medium_jpg">BigTuneOnline/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The deadly <a href="https://theconversation.com/christchurch-mosque-shootings-must-end-new-zealands-innocence-about-right-wing-terrorism-113655">attack on two mosques in Christchurch</a>, New Zealand, in which 50 people were killed and many others critically injured, was streamed live on Facebook by the man accused of carrying it out. It was then quickly shared across social media platforms. </p>
<p>Versions of the livestream attack video stayed online for a worrying amount of time. A report <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/15/video-of-christchurch-attack-runs-on-social-media-and-news-sites">by the Guardian</a> found that one video stayed on Facebook for six hours and another on YouTube for three. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/03/16/why-social-media-terrorism-make-perfect-fit/?utm_term=.9d69a29d3e4e">For many</a>, the quick and seemingly unstoppable spread of this video typifies everything that is wrong with social media: toxic, hate-filled content which goes viral and is seen by millions.</p>
<p>But we should avoid scapegoating the big platforms. All of them (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google, Snapchat) are signed up to the European Commission’s <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/just/item-detail.cfm?item_id=54300">#NoPlace4Hate</a> programme. They are committed to removing illegal hateful content within 24 hours, a time period which is likely to come down to <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/12/06/terrorist-content-online-council-adopts-negotiating-position-on-new-rules-to-prevent-dissemination/">just one hour</a>. </p>
<p>Aside from anything else, they are aware of the reputational risks of being associated with terrorism and other harmful content (such as pornography, suicide, paedophilia) and are increasingly devoting considerable resources to removing it. Within 24 hours of the Christchurch attack, Facebook had banned <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/17/18269453/facebook-new-zealand-attack-removed-1-5-million-videos-content-moderation">1.5m versions of the attack video</a> – of which 1.2m it stopped from being uploaded at all.</p>
<p>Monitoring hateful content is always difficult and even the most advanced systems accidentally miss some. But during terrorist attacks the big platforms face particularly significant challenges. As <a href="https://hatelab.net/data/race-and-religious-hate-speech-2017-terror-attacks/">research has shown</a>, terrorist attacks precipitate huge spikes in online hate, overrunning platforms’ reporting systems. Lots of the people who upload and share this content also know <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1702.08138">how to deceive the platforms</a> and get round their existing checks. </p>
<p>So what can platforms do to take down extremist and hateful content immediately after terrorist attacks? I propose four special measures which are needed to specifically target the short term influx of hate. </p>
<h2>1. Adjust the sensitivity of the hate detection tools</h2>
<p>All tools for hate detection have a margin of error. The designers have to decide how many false negatives and false positives they are happy with. False negatives are bits of content which are allowed online even though they are hateful and false positives are bits of content which are blocked even though they are non-hateful. There is always a trade off between the two when implementing any hate detection system. </p>
<p>The only way to truly ensure that no hateful content goes online is to ban all content from being uploaded – but this would be a mistake. Far better to adjust the sensitivity of the algorithms so that people are allowed to share content but platforms catch a lot more of the hateful stuff.</p>
<h2>2. Enable easier takedowns</h2>
<p>Hateful content which does get onto the big platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, can be flagged by users. It is then sent for manual review by a content moderator, who checks it using predefined guidelines. Content moderation is a fundamentally difficult business, and the platforms aim to minimise inaccurate reviews. Often this is by using the “stick”: according to some investigative journalists, moderators working on behalf of Facebook <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18229714/cognizant-facebook-content-moderator-interviews-trauma-working-conditions-arizona">risk losing their jobs</a> unless they maintain high moderation accuracy scores. </p>
<p>During attacks, platforms could introduce special procedures so that staff can quickly work through content without fear of low performance evaluation. They could also introduce temporary quarantines so that content is flagged for immediate removal but then re-examined at a later date.</p>
<h2>3. Limit the ability of users to share</h2>
<p>Sharing is a fundamental part of social media, and platforms actively encourage sharing both on their sites (which is crucial <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/19/facebook-users-sharing-less-personal-data-zuckerberg">to their business models</a>) and between them, as it means that none of them miss out when anything goes viral. But easy sharing also brings with it risks: research shows that extreme and hateful content <a href="https://conferences.sigcomm.org/imc/2017/papers/imc17-final145.pdf">is imported from niche far-right sites and dumped into the mainstream</a> where it can quickly spread to large audiences. And during attacks it means that anything which gets past one platform’s hate detection software can be quickly shared across all of the platforms. </p>
<p>Platforms should limit the number of times that content can be shared within their site and potentially ban shares between sites. This tactic has already been adopted by WhatsApp, which now limits the number of times content can be <a href="https://mashable.com/article/whatsapp-sharing-restrictions-users/">shared to just five</a>.</p>
<h2>4. Create shared databases of content</h2>
<p>All of the big platforms have very similar guidelines on what constitutes “hate” and will be trying to take down largely the same content following attacks. Creating a shared database of hateful content would ensure that content removed from one site is automatically banned from another. This would not only avoid needless duplication but enable the platforms to quickly devote resources to the really challenging content that is hard to detect. </p>
<p>Removing hateful content should be seen as an industry-wide effort and not a problem each platform faces individually. Shared databases like this do also exist <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-04/tech-companies-identify-remove-40-000-terrorist-videos-images">in a limited way</a> but efforts need to be hugely stepped up and their scope broadened.</p>
<p>In the long term, platforms need to keep investing in content moderation and developing advanced systems which integrate human checks with machine learning. But there is also a pressing need for special measures to handle the short-term influx of hate following terrorist attacks.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113785/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bertie Vidgen receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council</span></em></p>What can social media platforms do after terrorist attacks?Bertie Vidgen, PhD Candidate, Alan Turing Institute, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1060922019-02-21T12:13:17Z2019-02-21T12:13:17ZHow to tackle Islamophobia – the best strategies from around Europe<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259604/original/file-20190218-56240-16co5g7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A need for different narratives. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/muslim-female-friends-using-mobile-phone-588853601?src=QEqjesdcdpYqU-EhuCQr7w-1-1">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A growing body of research points to the proliferation of Islamophobia <a href="http://islamophobiaeurope.com">across Europe</a> in recent years. In the UK, record numbers of Islamophobic hate crimes <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jul/20/record-number-anti-muslim-attacks-reported-uk-2017">were recorded in 2017</a>, and <a href="http://hatecrime.osce.org/">across the continent</a> there have been similar findings on the growth of explicit Islamophobia. </p>
<p>In a new, pan-European <a href="http://cik.leeds.ac.uk">research project</a>, my colleagues and I set about to devise a <a href="https://cik.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2018/09/2018.09.17-Job-44240.01-CIK-Final-Booklet.pdf">toolkit</a> that can be used to counter Islamophobia. It summarises a range of the best methods and tools we saw being used to challenge Islamophobic thought and actions in Europe.</p>
<p>In any discussion about Islamphobia, a definition is required that acknowledges both direct forms of Islamophobic discrimination and also its more subtle, nuanced manifestations. A <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/599c3d2febbd1a90cffdd8a9/t/5bfd1ea3352f531a6170ceee/1543315109493/Islamophobia+Defined.pdf">definition</a> published by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in November 2018, which states “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness” does precisely this and is a useful starting point.</p>
<p>In our research, we began by examining the most common Islamophobic ideas that circulated in eight countries: France, Belgium, Germany, the UK, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece and Portugal. While the language and rhetoric of Islamophobia differed in each, we found much of it perceived Muslims, Islamic practices and sites, such as mosques or community centres, as inherently violent, threatening and incompatible with the view of a European way of life. For example, in France, wearing the headscarf and being visibly Muslim is viewed by some as being <a href="http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2018/07/27/01016-20180727ARTFIG00053-l-affaire-des-foulards-de-creil-la-republique-laique-face-au-voile-islamique.php">against French secular values</a> and by extension contrary to being French.</p>
<p>We found many examples of good practice when counteracting Islamophobia. For example, <a href="https://salaamshalom.org.uk/">interfaith projects</a> in Germany highlighted conviviality and cultural compatibility between Muslims and non-Muslims. </p>
<p>Art was also used in a number of cases, including Belgium and the UK, to challenge Islamophobic ideas. The <a href="http://tuffix.net/">Tuffix</a> comic strips by German artist Soufeina, and the 2017 British film, <a href="http://arakancreative.co.uk/freesia-film/">Freesia</a>, highlight the contribution of Muslims in society, and the issues many Muslims face as a result of Islamophobia. </p>
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<h2>Another narrative</h2>
<p>Based on our analysis, our toolkit highlighted some specific strategies that work to counter Islamophobia. Since a great deal of Islamophobia is based on the notion that Muslims threaten the European way of life, values and culture, one way to challenge these ideas is to highlight the many everyday roles Muslims occupy in society. And since we found that Islamophobic perceptions are often based on the idea that Islam and Muslims are sexist, projects that champion Muslim women, their work and their voices will go some way towards breaking down these preconceptions. </p>
<p>Muslim women are <a href="http://ccib-ctib.be/wp-content/uploads/CCIB_PUBLIC_PDF_RapportChiffresCCIB/CCIB_RapportChiffres2017_Septembre2018.pdf">disproportionately affected by Islamophobia</a>. They are not only seen as a threat to the West, but they are also paradoxically portrayed as victims of an alleged Islamic sexism. These contorted ideas must be overturned with new narratives, led by Muslim women themselves, presented via art, media and popular culture, to portray the diversity of their lives. </p>
<p>Islamophobia needs to be properly recorded to assess the scope and nature of the phenomenon, and the narratives and flawed logic used in Islamophobic attacks must be effectively deconstructed and challenged. Where misinformed narratives concerning Islam and Muslims circulate these must be broken down. A reconstruction of mainstream ideas surrounding Islam and Muslims is needed, one that is closer to the realities of the faith and its practice. This means that dominant ideas about Muslims and Islam that circulate in popular culture should reflect the diverse everyday experiences of Muslims and their faith. </p>
<p>All this amounts to a four-step approach: first defining, and second documenting Islamophobia, next deconstructing its narratives, and then reconstructing new positive and realistic narratives around Muslims. </p>
<p>Such an approach moves away from misinformed and often reactionary counter-Islamophobia strategies, such as the way Muslims repeatedly condemn terror attacks and seek to dissociate such acts from Islam. In doing so, they often find <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2017/mar/26/muslims-condemn-terrorism-stats">their comments fall on deaf ears</a> and instead risk contributing to associations between Muslims and violence. </p>
<p>The ultimate goal in countering Islamophobia should be to create a fair and just society for all, one that values and safeguards the citizenship of its members.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106092/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Counter-Islamophobia Kit project is funded by the European Commission's Rights, Equality and Citizenship programme (JUST/2015/RRAC/AG/BEST/8910) </span></em></p>Researchers have put together a toolkit for countering Islamophobia.Amina Easat-Daas, Researcher, Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1076572018-11-27T14:08:04Z2018-11-27T14:08:04ZWhy UK’s working definition of Islamophobia as a ‘type of racism’ is a historic step<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247491/original/file-20181127-76752-8f00wr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">MPs have suggested a working definition of Islamophobia for the first time. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-21st-january-2017-editorial-561519121?src=HEfZ2uXmTyjHX8SE6UqQsg-1-13">John Gomez/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://appgbritishmuslims.org/">All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims</a> has made history by putting forward the first working definition of Islamophobia in the UK. Its report, <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/599c3d2febbd1a90cffdd8a9/t/5bfd1ea3352f531a6170ceee/1543315109493/Islamophobia+Defined.pdf">Islamophobia Defined</a>, states:</p>
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<p>Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.</p>
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<p>The culmination of almost two years of consultation and evidence gathering, the definition takes into account the views of different organisations, politicians, faith leaders, academics and communities from across the country. It also takes into account the views of victims of hate crime.</p>
<p>Islamophobia is still a relatively new word which entered the public and political lexicon <a href="https://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/publications/pdfs/islamophobia.pdf">little more than two decades ago</a>. Yet, the <a href="https://wallscometumblingdown.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/chrisallen-written-evidence-appg-launch-nov-2011.pdf">process</a> of establishing a working definition of Islamophobia has been <a href="https://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/Islamophobia%20Report%202018%20FINAL.pdf">ongoing</a> and one that <a href="https://wallscometumblingdown.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/paper-7-towards-a-definition-of-islamophobia-briefing-paper-october-20171.pdf">I have contributed to</a> in various different ways. </p>
<p>In the hope of bringing about a more consistent and coherent approach to tackling Islamophobia, the drive for a working definition has been underpinned both by the need to help people better understand what Islamophobia is and isn’t, and also to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jul/20/record-number-anti-muslim-attacks-reported-uk-2017">record levels of Islamophobic hate crime</a>.</p>
<p>For detractors however, Islamophobia is a problem for a number of reasons. Some, such as the writer Melanie Philips claim that Islamophobia just does not exist, that it is a mere <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/islamophobia-is-a-fiction-to-shut-down-debate-wwtzggnc7">“fiction”</a>. Yet data on hate crimes against Muslims from the <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/revealed-antimuslim-hate-crimes-in-london-soared-by-40-in-a-year-a3775751.html">Metropolitan Police</a> and <a href="https://tellmamauk.org/tell-mamas-annual-report-for-2017-shows-highest-number-of-anti-muslim-incidents/">Tell MAMA</a> among others render such claims wholly unfounded. </p>
<p>Others such as the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/thebirminghambrief/items/2011/01/islamophobia-chris-allen-210111.aspx">Quilliam Foundation</a> find the term problematic, suggesting that it shuts down debate. At the most extreme, commentators such as <a href="https://medium.com/@mail.chrisallen/a-summer-of-islamophobia-considerations-of-the-lessons-learned-9d7b85b05014">Rod Liddle</a> claim there just isn’t enough Islamophobia. </p>
<h2>Comparisons with racism</h2>
<p>Irrespective of whether the new working definition of Islamophobia has the potential to counter these narratives, it has much to offer. Short and accessible, the new definition is neither too complex nor overly academic, which maximises its potential appeal to both public and political audiences. </p>
<p>Aligning Islamophobia with racism is also likely to be helpful, because people intuitively “get” racism, and the majority deem it to be unwanted and unnecessary in today’s Britain. The same needs to be true for Islamophobia where people “get” that <a href="https://wallscometumblingdown.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/chris-allen-visible-muslim-women-british-case-study-october-2014-brill-muslims-in-europe.pdf">a Muslim woman being physically assaulted</a> is equally unwanted and unnecessary. </p>
<p>Drawing comparisons with racism does have the potential for some confusion, not least in conflating religion with “race”. While religion has the potential to be changed and chosen, race is largely fixed and unchanging. This means it will be important to explain clearly that the comparison with racism is made to highlight similarities between the functions and processes of Islamophobia, rather than suggesting Muslims constitute a race. In this way, the new definition emphasises how Islamophobia targets markers of “Muslimness” and Muslim identity – evident in how perpetrators of Islamophobic hate crime disproportionately target <a href="https://tellmamauk.org/maybe-we-are-hated-the-experience-and-impact-of-anti-muslim-hate-on-british-muslim-women-november-2013/">visibly Muslim women</a> – in the same way that racism often targets people for the colour of their skin.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-islamophobia-feel-like-we-dressed-visibly-as-muslims-for-a-month-to-find-out-66786">What does Islamophobia feel like? We dressed visibly as Muslims for a month to find out</a>
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<p>Given the new definition’s emphasis on Muslimness and Muslims, this should go some way to allaying fears that it’s Islamophobic to not share the same beliefs as Muslims or disagree with some of their practices. Clearly it is not. Nor is it Islamophobic to appropriately criticise Muslims or condemn atrocities committed by any group or person who might claim to be acting in “the name of Allah” (or similar). But, as the new definition rightfully infers, if disagreements, criticisms or condemnations are used to demonise or vilify all Muslims without differentiation, then it’s likely at least some Islamophobic views will be underpinning such an approach. </p>
<p>The new working definition goes beyond merely replicating the <a href="https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/working-definition-antisemitism">working definition of antisemitism</a> that was put forward by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance before being adopted by the British government in 2016. While I’ve previously advocated substituting Islamophobia for antisemitism as a quick and easy solution to the ongoing definition problem, the complexity and fallout from recent <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45414656">allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party</a> highlight the weaknesses and deficiencies of such an approach. Having two separate definitions for Islamophobia and antisemitism ensures that critical – and necessary – distance between the two phenomena is maintained.</p>
<h2>What people do and say</h2>
<p>While the working definition is a welcome development, it’s worth remembering that it is <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/islamophobia-muslims-islam-uk-myths-economy-social-advantage-mps-government-a8653216.html">only a recommendation</a>. Whether the government intends to adopt it or not is unclear at this stage. </p>
<p>As a catalyst for change, however, the definition is right to be more concerned with what people do and what they say, rather than laying claim to what or who they are. Using the definition to merely call out potential Islamophobes has the very real potential to be wholly counter-productive. Instead, it must be used to build new constituencies and alliances that can <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/6/3/77">work together</a> to advocate for change.</p>
<p>While the working definition is unlikely to appease those who ultimately deny Islamophobia’s existence, if it draws attention to Islamophobia and its negative consequences, that can only be a good thing. My hope is that it will also draw attention to how Islamophobia impacts the lives of many ordinary Muslims going about their lives in today’s Britain. This should neither be dismissed nor underestimated.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107657/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Allen is a former independent member of the cross-government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group.</span></em></p>For the first time the UK has a working definition for Islamophobia.Chris Allen, Associate Professor in Hate Studies, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/895232018-01-02T23:04:40Z2018-01-02T23:04:40ZUnliked: How Facebook is playing a part in the Rohingya genocide<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200498/original/file-20171229-96266-5g371b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rohingya Muslim women who fled Myanmar for Bangladesh stretch their arms out to collect aid distributed by relief agencies in this September 2017 photo. A campaign of killings, rape and arson attacks by security forces and Buddhist-aligned mobs have sent more than 850,000 of the country's 1.3 million Rohingya fleeing.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Dar Yasin, File)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>New technology can have profound impacts on society in ways never intended.</p>
<p>The radio <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-27894944">carried codes</a> during the First World War, but later became a household fixture. <a href="https://bebusinessed.com/history/history-of-the-telephone/">Early telephones</a> were leased in pairs but after Western Union, a telegraph company, adopted “exchanges,” it led to rapid long-distance communication. Likewise, mobile phones have evolved from bulky “walkie-talkies” to small supercomputers. </p>
<p>And now Facebook, originally a connection platform for university students, conjoins one in four people. But today, in Myanmar, Facebook is helping fuel a genocide against the Rohingya people. </p>
<p>Based on our research in Myanmar and in Cuba, we argue that internet usage in Myanmar is dangerous. Unbridled connection to Facebook creates what we call a “virtual coercive,” a digital space that bolsters coercion. We suggest that Cuba’s internet model may provide lessons to manage social media amid political chaos.</p>
<p>The utility of inventions can be unpredictable, and so too can the social impacts be catastrophic. </p>
<p><a href="https://bebusinessed.com/history/history-of-the-telephone/">Distracted driving</a> is an unforeseen consequence of mobile phones that kills or maims thousands each year. Dealing with distracted driving involves better driver education, curbing usage behind the wheel and penalties for stupidity. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.rwandanstories.org/genocide/hate_radio.html">Radio enabled unimaginable horrors</a> during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. </p>
<h2>‘Blood on hands’</h2>
<p>But in conditions of genocide, can a technology like radio be limited or restricted? It’s an essential service, but with blood on its hands. That’s a burden Facebook now shares.</p>
<p>In 2010, Myanmar had <a href="http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/myanmar/">130,000</a> heavily restricted internet users. In seven years, SIM card <a href="https://qz.com/62523/this-sim-card-used-to-cost-3000-democracy-may-bring-it-down-to-zero/">prices plunged</a> from more than US$3,000 to <a href="https://qz.com/70523/myanmar-cuts-the-price-of-a-sim-card-by-99/">$1</a>. The government also <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-19315806">relaxed censorship laws</a>, allowing Facebook to attract <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/world/asia/myanmar-government-facebook-rohingya.html">30 million Burmese users.</a> Many of them view Facebook as the internet. </p>
<p>Beginning in <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rohingya/at-least-71-killed-in-myanmar-as-rohingya-insurgents-stage-major-attack-idUSKCN1B507K">late August</a>, Burmese security forces pursued a <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/17/burma-new-satellite-images-confirm-mass-destruction">scorched-earth campaign</a> against the Rohingya. Some <a href="http://www.msf.org/en/article/myanmarbangladesh-msf-surveys-estimate-least-6700-rohingya-were-killed-during-attacks">6,700</a> were killed and <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/bangladesh/iscg-situation-update-rohingya-refugee-crisis-cox-s-bazar-7-december-2017">645,000</a> were forced to to seek refuge in Bangladesh. </p>
<p>Along with ultra-nationalist monk <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/may/12/only-takes-one-terrorist-buddhist-monk-reviles-myanmar-muslims-rohingya-refugees-ashin-wirathu">Ashin Wirathu</a>, a host of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/fake-news-on-facebook-fans-the-flames-of-hate-against-the-rohingya-in-burma/2017/12/07/2c1fe830-ca1f-11e7-b506-8a10ed11ecf5_story.html">Facebook pages spread hate speech</a>. This vitriolic propaganda further vilifies the already marginalized and much-maligned Rohingya. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200499/original/file-20171229-96263-vt2qmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200499/original/file-20171229-96263-vt2qmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200499/original/file-20171229-96263-vt2qmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200499/original/file-20171229-96263-vt2qmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200499/original/file-20171229-96263-vt2qmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200499/original/file-20171229-96263-vt2qmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200499/original/file-20171229-96263-vt2qmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Myanmar’s radical Buddhist monk, the anti-Muslim Ashin Wirathu, is seen here in Sri Lanka in 2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)</span></span>
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<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/23/aung-san-suu-free-press-fake-news-rohingya">Anti-Rohingya content</a> includes explicitly racist political cartoons, falsified images and staged news reports. This content goes viral, normalizing hate speech and shaping public perception. Violence against Rohingya people is increasingly welcomed, and then celebrated online. This virtual coercive serves the Myanmar military’s interests. </p>
<p>The military junta’s monopoly on information has provided little arena to foster media literacy. Such propaganda in this virtual coercive of anti-Rohingya propaganda preys upon the ill-informed. For many, the misinformation spread through Facebook justifies what the United Nations has dubbed <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22041&LangID=E">a textbook example of ethnic cleansing</a>.</p>
<p>Myanmar citizens now have unbridled access to low-cost internet on their mobile devices. Freedom of speech advocates will laud this. But this open information pipeline reinforces Facebook’s dark side of self-reaffirmation with limited perspective.</p>
<p>This is to the Burmese military’s advantage. Just as radio fuelled genocide in the 1990s, Facebook is making it happen in Myanmar today.</p>
<h2>Fiction becomes reality</h2>
<p>Facebook’s virtual coercive is one of division, competing realities and a lack of mutual acceptance. In Facebook’s virtual coercive, fiction is reality and lies can validate. </p>
<p>Considering this, we argue that constant Facebook use in Myanmar is too risky to ignore. Societies require spaces for tolerance of differing ideas, trade, negotiation, volunteerism and face-to-face dynamics. This is lacking in Myanmar. </p>
<p>Cuba may be an important example in this discussion. </p>
<p>The nature of internet access in Cuba has not led to the abusive coercion or divisive politics. Protests through social media that are common in other parts of the world do not exist in Cuba. </p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>Internet in Cuba is, simply put, expensive. Spending US$3 for an hour of WiFi in internet parks is about 10 per cent of a Cuban’s monthly earnings. With only limited time to be online, Facebook’s bandwidth-clogging bulk makes it unpopular in Cuba. Instead, other SMS and chat apps such as IMO, a direct video chat service, is preferred.</p>
<h2>Cubans access internet in small doses</h2>
<p>Cuba has only limited capacity to monitor its internet traffic, and the government worries about unbridled access. </p>
<p>And so Facebook cannot be accessed during working hours in most government and university settings in Cuba. It creates a disincentive to rely on Facebook for news and connections. </p>
<p>Cubans surf the net in small doses and often in public spaces. This breaks the virtual coercive through face-to-face interactions.</p>
<p>The shortcomings of Cuba’s model are obvious given it creates a barrier to information. Free-speech advocates will be quick to dismiss the idea of limiting the time spent online, never mind the dangers of a state having the responsibility to curtail social media. </p>
<p>But is unbridled access to Facebook really a pillar of free speech if the platform can be harnessed for the purpose of eliminating an entire population?</p>
<p>It’s time to entertain disconnecting from the virtual coercive in order to engage in real space. Maybe in this way, Facebook’s dark side can be kept at bay while still serving its original purpose of connecting people and enriching, not destroying, lives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89523/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Huish receives funding from The Social Science and Humanities Research Council, and the Marsden Foundation.. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick Balazo receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Killam Trusts, and currently works as a Research Fellow with the Statelessness Network Asia Pacific.</span></em></p>Facebook is unwittingly helping fuel a genocide against the Rohingya people in Myanmar. Does Cuba’s internet model provide lessons to manage social media amid political chaos?Robert Huish, Associate Professor in International Development Studies, Dalhousie UniversityPatrick Balazo, Researcher, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/860262017-11-01T22:37:01Z2017-11-01T22:37:01ZThe Trump effect in Canada: A 600 per cent increase in online hate speech<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192899/original/file-20171101-19900-d1p499.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Germany has introduced new legislation to try to stop the rise of online hate speech. It's a phenomenon that's happening in Canada too and many analysts point to the impact of Donald Trump's politics.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Under Hitler, Germany experienced the consequences of a nation caving in to propaganda and hate speech. This may explain its government’s urgency to enact a new <a href="http://www.bundesrat.de/SharedDocs/drucksachen/2017/0501-0600/536-17.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1">law</a>, known as the <a href="http://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/germany-social-media-platforms-to-be-held-accountable-for-hosted-content-under-facebook-act/">“Facebook Act,”</a> in response to the recent alarming rise of hate speech online.</p>
<p>Canada is experiencing a similar rise. </p>
<p>Media marketing company Cision documented a six-fold rise — that’s a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episodes/2016-2017/the-trump-effect">600 per cent increase</a> — in the amount of intolerant and hate speech in social media postings by Canadians between November 2015 and November 2016. Hashtags such as #banmuslims, #siegheil, #whitegenocide and #whitepower were widely used on popular social media platforms such as Twitter. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/is-trump-emboldening-right-wing-extremism-in-canada-82635">Some analysts blame Trump</a>. But Canadian media outlets shouldn’t be too smug about their adherence to the practice of fair and balanced journalism. </p>
<p>A group of scholars at Ryerson University conducted a critical analysis of <a href="http://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/rcis/documents/RCIS%20Working%20Paper%202017_3%20Tyyska%20et%20al.%20final.pdf">how the Canadian media covered the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Canada</a> between September 2015 and April 2016. They found several news outlets played a major role in reinforcing the negative image of Syrian refugees and Muslims in the public eye. </p>
<p>The refugees were subject to “othering,” the practice of depicting nonwhite cultures as “alien,” and highlighting differences rather than shared values or interests. The new arrivals from Syria were stereotyped, criminalized (especially men) and perceived as passive, lacking agency, vulnerable, needy and a drain on government resources. Male Syrian refugees were viewed as security threats and female Syrian refugees as voiceless, oppressed and desperate.</p>
<p>My <a href="http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/news_room-salle_de_presse/latest_news-nouvelles_recentes/2017/final_five-cinq_grands_gagnants-eng.aspx">research</a> study investigates the way youth view their role in society as it relates to refugees, and how they regard and interpret online propaganda.</p>
<h2>The $74 million question</h2>
<p>The European Commission recently announced a new set of <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-3493_en.htm">guidelines and principles for online platforms to prevent content inciting hatred, violence and terrorism</a>, and Twitter began implementing its <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/topics/company/2017/safetycalendar.html">new rules for fighting hate</a> on Nov. 1. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192902/original/file-20171101-19858-33efbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192902/original/file-20171101-19858-33efbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192902/original/file-20171101-19858-33efbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192902/original/file-20171101-19858-33efbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192902/original/file-20171101-19858-33efbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192902/original/file-20171101-19858-33efbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192902/original/file-20171101-19858-33efbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Twitter began implementing its new guidelines to fight hate speech on Nov. 1. President Donald Trump’s Twitter feed is seen by some as a factor in a 600 per cent rise in hate speech on social media in Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/J. David Ake)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Should Canada follow in <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/02/germany-enacts-law-limiting-online-hate-speech/">Germany’s footsteps</a> and enact a law that would pressure social networks to remove offensive posts within 24 hours or risk fines of up to $74 million for failing to comply?</p>
<p>Adopting new regulations forcing social media platforms to respond swiftly could be an effective intervention to halt the spread of hate speech online. However, it could also prove to be challenging, as moderators wade into complex language and <a href="http://www.adweek.com/digital/facebook-hard-questions-hate-speech/">often get it wrong</a>. Ultimately, we need to adopt a systematic response to hateful and dangerous rhetoric online. </p>
<p>The German social media law has been the subject of criticism since it was announced. Some critics say the law is <a href="http://www.todayonline.com/world/osce-watchdog-criticizes-german-social-media-law-too-broad">too broad</a> while others warn it could be the <a href="https://qz.com/1090825/germanys-new-social-media-law-analysis-facebook-twitter-youtube-to-remove-hate-speech-in-24-hours-or-face-fines/">executioner of free speech</a>. The thin line between hate speech and free speech is the focus of many concerned Canadians.</p>
<p>In Canada, hate speech is addressed in the recently updated <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/C-46.pdf">Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)</a>. However, the applicability of this law to online hate speech is a frequent subject of debate that produces <a href="http://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/digital-issues/online-hate/online-hate-canadian-law">conflicting conclusions</a>. In particular, the <em>Defenses</em> section of the code outlines cases where the proponents of hate speech could be exempted.</p>
<p>Distinguishing hate speech from <a href="http://quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/nadia-naffi/islamophobie-discours-haineux_b_16151548.html">fear speech</a> — speech originating from fear and masked with terms and expressions usually associated with hate — is by itself a great challenge. <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/m-103-islamophobia-motion-vote-1.4038016">Motion 103 (M-103)</a>, which condemns Islamophobia in Canada, and was passed in the House of Commons this Spring, is perceived by some Canadians to be suppressing free speech. </p>
<h2>How to stop hate online?</h2>
<p>Extremist parties, politicians and their fans have all successfully taken advantage of social media platforms to spread messages filled with racism and intolerance — even incitement to radical views.</p>
<p>Right-wing activists and the movements they espouse now total more than <a href="http://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/august-2017/acknowledging-canadas-hate-groups-exist/">100 organized groups in Canada</a>. They are more visible and also better connected than ever before.</p>
<p>Stopping hate speech and extremist views on social media may be an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/may/24/facebook-struggles-with-mission-impossible-to-stop-online-extremism">impossible mission</a>.</p>
<p>Yet, a <a href="http://abacusdata.ca/matters-of-opinion-2017-8-things-we-learned-about-politics-the-news-and-the-internet/">majority of Canadians get their news about politics</a> through social media giants such as Facebook. Facebook says <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/282364/number-of-facebook-users-in-canada/">84 per cent of young Canadians</a> actively use the social media platform.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192897/original/file-20171101-19894-k8z2pj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192897/original/file-20171101-19894-k8z2pj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192897/original/file-20171101-19894-k8z2pj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192897/original/file-20171101-19894-k8z2pj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192897/original/file-20171101-19894-k8z2pj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192897/original/file-20171101-19894-k8z2pj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192897/original/file-20171101-19894-k8z2pj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Approximately 84 per cent of young Canadians use Facebook, the company says.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Noah Berger)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“The essence of propaganda consists in winning people over to an idea so sincerely, so vitally, that in the end they succumb to it utterly and can never escape from it,” said <a href="http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/nazi-germany/propaganda-in-nazi-germany/">Joseph Goebbels</a>, Hitler’s minister of propaganda and national enlightenment.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.magmamater.cl/MatheComm.pdf">Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication</a>, created in 1948 by mathematician and electronic engineer Claude Elwood Shannon and scientist Warren Weaver, every communication includes an information source, a message, a transmitter, a receiver, a destination and a noise source.</p>
<p>If we apply <a href="http://communicationtheory.org/shannon-and-weaver-model-of-communication/">the communication model</a> to online hate speech, we can identify the information sources as the propagandists, including extremist parties. They craft a simple, direct message such as “Muslims are terrorists” and transmit it through social media posts. </p>
<p>The destination is the audience the propagandists are focused on manipulating. This audience belongs to a whole spectrum, ranging from supporters of the idea to an audience that is outraged by it. </p>
<p>The receiver is the system used by the audience to decode the message and interpret it. The noise source includes the laws, acts, filtering and flagging strategies put in place to prevent the message from reaching the destination.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Therefore, we must shift our tactics. We could for example, focus on the receiver and the destination of the hate-filled message. We could teach the audience — youth in particular — how to withstand digital hate speech propaganda.</p>
<h2>Youth need to be part of the solution</h2>
<p>Conversations that characterize millennials as passive consumers of news with little and incidental exposure to world events could not be more wrong. A study conducted by the Media Insight Project in 2015 found youth between the age of 18 and 24 are <a href="https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/reports/survey-research/millennials-news/">“anything but ‘newsless,’ ”</a> passive or uninterested in civic issues. </p>
<p>Instead, they consume news and information in strikingly different ways than previous generations and their paths “to discovery are more nuanced and varied than some may have imagined.” Social media plays a large role in their news consumption. </p>
<p>Many youth are critical of media content and their choice of the information and the news they read online is <a href="http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5898&context=etd">far from random</a>. They often <a href="http://mediasmarts.ca/sites/mediasmarts/files/publication-report/full/ycwwiii_encountering_racist_sexist_content_online.pdf">see or experience direct or indirect racial discrimination online</a> or witness unproductive, uncivil or disturbing Facebook discussions.</p>
<p>They recognize the agendas and <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-can-absolutely-control-its-algorithm/">algorithms</a> behind the posts that pop up on their walls, and they hunger for an influential voice that would disrupt the discourses about issues that affect their lives. </p>
<p>Yet, fearing a backlash, a majority of youth choose to remain bystanders in an era where their social media presence and skills are needed the most. They remain “<a href="https://ypp.dmlcentral.net/sites/default/files/publications/Redesigning%20Civic%20Ed_Kahne%2C%20Hodgin%2C%20Eidmain-Aadahl.pdf">power users (frequent users),” instead of “powerful users (influential users)</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192900/original/file-20171101-19845-1kln5v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192900/original/file-20171101-19845-1kln5v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192900/original/file-20171101-19845-1kln5v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192900/original/file-20171101-19845-1kln5v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192900/original/file-20171101-19845-1kln5v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192900/original/file-20171101-19845-1kln5v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192900/original/file-20171101-19845-1kln5v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Once youth understand the lenses with which they view online content, they develop empathy towards refugees. Here, a protester holds a sign at a protest in downtown Seattle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Hate speech and ugly online conversations around Syrian refugees are mainly orchestrated to spread fear among people who might otherwise be members of actual or prospective welcoming communities. A campaign to counter propaganda, led by <a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/dsgsm933.doc.htm">agents of change</a>, is important to counterbalance the negative influence and allow host societies to make informed choices. </p>
<p>Youth could be our best candidates to be these agents of change, given their familiarity with social media. For this to happen, <a href="https://ypp.dmlcentral.net/sites/default/files/publications/Redesigning%20Civic%20Ed_Kahne%2C%20Hodgin%2C%20Eidmain-Aadahl.pdf">young people need to develop civic online reasoning and identify ways to leverage the power of social media</a> for “greater control, voice and influence over issues that matter most in their lives.” </p>
<p>They need to understand where their political tolerance and intolerance comes from, and <a href="https://www.odi.org/publications/10826-understanding-public-attitudes-towards-refugees-and-migrants">understand the concerns, emotions and values that generate public attitudes</a>.</p>
<p>Many argue that <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/world/why-fake-news-spreads-so-quickly-on-facebook-20170831-gy8je4.html">education is not enough</a>. However, equipping and empowering youth to disrupt the messaging transmitted by radical extremists or parties with racist agendas starts with the pedagogy of understanding oneself. </p>
<h2>The power of self-knowledge</h2>
<p>My <a href="http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/news_room-salle_de_presse/latest_news-nouvelles_recentes/2017/final_five-cinq_grands_gagnants-eng.aspx">research</a> study involved <a href="http://www.pcp-net.org/journal/pctp17/naffi17.pdf">126 in-depth interviews</a> with 42 youth between 18 and 24 years old from Canada, the U.K., France, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Greece and Lebanon. During the interviews, I engaged these young participants in the process of learning about themselves using <a href="http://www.pcp-net.org/journal/pctp16/naffi16.pdf">tools I adapted from Personal Construct Psychology</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191971/original/file-20171026-28033-g09n78.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191971/original/file-20171026-28033-g09n78.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191971/original/file-20171026-28033-g09n78.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191971/original/file-20171026-28033-g09n78.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191971/original/file-20171026-28033-g09n78.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191971/original/file-20171026-28033-g09n78.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191971/original/file-20171026-28033-g09n78.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In-depth interviews were conducted with 42 youths, aged 18 to 24, to understand how they viewed their role in the integration and inclusion of refugees in their societies.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I wanted to understand how they viewed their role in the integration and inclusion of refugees in their societies, in a context where the image of refugees was deeply influenced by social media, especially after terror attacks. </p>
<p>I also wanted to discover what knowledge and skills they developed through the process of understanding themselves by identifying their construct systems — the “lenses” they used when decoding digital propaganda targeting sensitive and controversial issues such as the <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/syria-emergency.html">Syrian refugee crisis</a>.</p>
<p>Through our discussions, each of these 42 young people had an “aha moment.” </p>
<p>Regardless of their geographical locations or the ways they experienced the refugee crisis and the recent terror attacks, they had the same sudden realization. Not only could they control how social media influenced them, but they also had a role to play in shaping the image of refugees through what they shared online. </p>
<p>They became critical of media content. They developed empathy towards both refugees and people who rejected newcomers. They moved from passive bystanders, to became confident agents of change, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfhkgApEGxc">ready to play a leadership role</a> in counterbalancing the digital hate speech propaganda against refugees.</p>
<p>To eradicate digital hate speech propaganda, we need to prevent propagandists from reaching their objectives.</p>
<p>Laws such as Germany’s “Facebook Act” constitute one piece of the solution. The other key is to make sure audiences are trained to better withstand manipulation.</p>
<p>Our youth, once equipped and empowered, are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS0Vas2puJ0">our best candidates</a> to disrupt the messages spread by propagandists and to pursue the mission of putting a stop to hate speech.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86026/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nadia Naffi receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). She is affiliated with Milieux and the Centre for Immigration Policy Evaluation (CIPE) at Concordia University.</span></em></p>There has been a 600 per cent increase in online hate speech since Nov. 2015. The solution to stop the tide lies in both anti-hate laws and self-awareness education for audiences.Nadia Naffi, Full-Time Faculty in the Education Department, PhD Candidate in Educational Technology & Public Scholar, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/840232017-09-15T20:02:19Z2017-09-15T20:02:19ZCan taking down websites really stop terrorists and hate groups?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186054/original/file-20170914-8975-10ohbne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's very hard to cut extremists off from the internet.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/no-internet-disconnection-nippers-snack-twisted-625930508">ADragan/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the wake of an explosion in London on September 15, <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/908643633901039617">President Trump called for</a> <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/15/opinions/trump-tweets-on-terror-internet-london-bergen/index.html">cutting off extremists’ access</a> to the internet.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"908643633901039617"}"></div></p>
<p>Racists and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/world/asia/philippines-isis-marawi-duterte.html">terrorists</a>, and many <a href="http://dailypost.ng/2017/08/04/boko-haram-internet-fake-news-influence-terrorism-osinbajo/">other extremists</a>, have used the internet for decades and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/05/extremist-groups-vkontakte/483426/">adapted as technology evolved</a>, shifting from text-only discussion forums to elaborate and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/05/17/el-daily-stormer-in-search-of-new-readers-leading-neo-nazi-site-starts-publishing-in-spanish/">interactive websites</a>, <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/kb7n4a/isis-messaging-apps">custom-built secure messaging systems</a> and even <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/11/05/inside-the-twitter-for-racists-gab-the-site-where-milo-yiannopoulos-goes-to-troll-now/">entire social media platforms</a>. </p>
<p>Our research has examined various online communities populated by radical and extremist groups. And two of us were on the team that created the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2012.713229">U.S. Extremist Crime Database</a>, an open-source database helping scholars better understand the criminal behaviors of jihadi, far-right and far-left extremists. Analysis of that data demonstrates that <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2013.755912">having an online presence</a> appears to help hate groups stay active over time. (One of the oldest far-right group forums, Stormfront, has been online in some form <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-online-equivalent-of-a-burning-cross-83185">since the early 1990s</a>.) </p>
<p>But recent efforts to <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-online-equivalent-of-a-burning-cross-83185">deny these groups online platforms</a> will not kick hate groups, nor hate speech, off the web. In fact, some scholars theorize that attempts to shut down hate speech online may cause a backlash, worsening the problem and making hate groups more attractive to marginalized and stigmatized people, groups and movements.</p>
<h2>Fighting an impossible battle</h2>
<p>Like regular individuals and corporations, extremist groups use social media and the internet. But there have been few concerted efforts to eliminate their presence from online spaces. For years, Cloudflare, a company that provides technical services and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/opinion/cloudflare-daily-stormer-charlottesville.html">protection against online attacks</a>, has <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/how-cloudflare-helps-serve-up-hate-on-the-web">been a key provider</a> for far-right groups and jihadists, withstanding <a href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/11/18/cloudflare_ceo_rubbishes_anonymous_claims_of_terrorist_support/">harsh criticism</a>.</p>
<p>The company refused to act until a few days after the violence in Charlottesville. As outrage built around the events and groups involved, pressure mounted on companies providing internet services to the Daily Stormer, a major hate site whose members helped organize the demonstrations that turned fatal. As other service providers <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/15/16150668/daily-stormer-alt-right-dark-web-site-godaddy-google-ban">stopped working with the site</a>, <a href="http://gizmodo.com/cloudflare-ceo-on-terminating-service-to-neo-nazi-site-1797915295">Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince emailed his staff</a> that he “woke up … in a bad mood and decided to <a href="https://blog.cloudflare.com/why-we-terminated-daily-stormer/">kick them off the internet</a>.” </p>
<p>It may seem like a good first step to limit hate groups’ online activity – thereby keeping potential supporters from learning about them and deciding to participate. And a company’s decision may demonstrate to other customers its willingness to take hard stances against hate speech.</p>
<p>But that decision can cause problems: Prince criticized his own role, saying, “<a href="https://gizmodo.com/cloudflare-ceo-on-terminating-service-to-neo-nazi-site-1797915295">No one should have that power</a>” to decide who should and shouldn’t be able to be online. And he made clear that the move was <a href="https://gizmodo.com/cloudflare-ceo-on-terminating-service-to-neo-nazi-site-1797915295">not a signal of a new company policy</a>.</p>
<p>Further, as a sheer practical matter, the distributed global nature of the internet means no group can be kept offline entirely. All manner of extremist groups have online operations – and despite <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/01/facebook-twitter-extremism-meeting/">efforts by mainstream sites like Facebook and Twitter</a>, they are still able to recruit people to far-right groups and the jihadist movement. Even the Daily Stormer itself has managed to remain online after being booted from the mainstream internet, <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/08/unable-to-get-a-domain-racist-daily-stormer-retreats-to-the-dark-web/">finding new life as a site on the dark web</a>.</p>
<h2>Drawing attention</h2>
<p>Efforts to knock extremists offline may also have counterproductive results, helping the targeted groups recruit and radicalize new members. The fact that their websites have been taken down can become <a href="https://cchs.gwu.edu/sites/cchs.gwu.edu/files/downloads/ISIS%20in%20America%20-%20Full%20Report.pdf">a badge of honor</a> for those who are blocked or removed. For instance, Twitter users affiliated with IS who were blocked or banned at one point are often able to <a href="https://cchs.gwu.edu/sites/cchs.gwu.edu/files/downloads/Berger_Occasional%20Paper.pdf">reactivate their accounts</a> and use their experience as a demonstration of their commitment.</p>
<p>When a particular site is under fire, people who hold similar beliefs may be drawn to support the group, finding themselves motivated by a perceived opportunity to express views that are opposed by socially powerful companies or organization. In fact, <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/friction-9780199747436?cc=us&lang=en&">radicalization scholars</a> have found that some extremist groups actively seek out harsh penalties from criminal justice agencies and governments, in an effort to exploit perceived overreactions for a public relations advantage that also aids their recruitment efforts.</p>
<h2>Relations between tech companies and police</h2>
<p>Internet companies’ decisions about online expression also affect the difficult relationship between the technology industry and law enforcement. There are, for example, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-apple-facebook-other-tech-groups-are-combatting-online-exploitation-of-childen_us_564b8ee3e4b045bf3df1741a">many examples of cooperation</a> between web hosting providers and police investigating child pornography or other crimes. But policies and practices vary widely and can depend on the circumstances of the crime or the nature of the police request. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-fbi-versus-apple-government-strengthened-techs-hand-on-privacy-55353">Apple refused to help the FBI</a> retrieve information from an iPhone used by a man who shot 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in 2015. The company said it wanted to avoid setting a precedent that could put its customers at risk of intrusive or unfair investigations <a href="https://www.apple.com/customer-letter/">in the future</a>. And Apple has since <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/apples-ios-11-will-make-it-even-harder-for-cops-to-extract-your-data/">substantially increased its protections</a> for data stored on its devices.</p>
<p>All of this suggests the tech industry, law enforcement and policymakers must develop a more measured and coordinated approach to the removal of extremist and terrorist content online. Tech companies may intend to be creating a safer and more inclusive environment for users – but they may actually encourage radicalization and simultaneously create precedents for removing content in the face of public outcry, regardless of legal or moral obligations. </p>
<p>To date, these concerns have arisen suddenly and briefly only in the wake of specific events, like 9/11 or Charlottesville. And while opponents may shut down one or more hate sites, the site will likely pop back up elsewhere, maybe even stronger. The only way to really eliminate this kind of online content is to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/15/opinions/trump-tweets-on-terror-internet-london-bergen/index.html">decrease the number of people who support it</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84023/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Holt, Steve Chermak, and Joshua D. Freilich receive funding from the the National Institute of Justice, US Department of Justice.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua D. Freilich receives funding from the National Institute of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Chermak receives funding from the National Institute of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.</span></em></p>Efforts to kick extremists off the internet can’t succeed and might even have the unintended side effect of bolstering support for radical groups.Thomas Holt, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, Michigan State UniversityJoshua D. Freilich, Professor of Criminal Justice, City University of New YorkSteven Chermak, Professor of Criminal Justice, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/831852017-08-31T00:06:43Z2017-08-31T00:06:43ZWhat is the online equivalent of a burning cross?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184062/original/file-20170830-927-1qf7sdh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Online hate isn't always as easy to spot as it might appear.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/word-hate-written-red-keyboard-buttons-328962281">Lukasz Stefanski/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>White supremacy is woven into the tapestry of American culture, online and off – in both physical monuments and online domain names. A band of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/us/white-nationalists-rally-charlottesville-virginia.html?mcubz=0">tiki-torch-carrying white nationalists</a> gathered first online, and then at the site of a Jim Crow-era Confederate monument in Charlottesville, Virginia.</p>
<p>Addressing white supremacy is going to take much more than toppling a handful of <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/19/544678037/duke-university-removes-robert-e-lee-statue-from-chapel-entrance">Robert E. Lee statues</a> or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/magazine/how-hate-groups-forced-online-platforms-to-reveal-their-true-nature.html">shutting down a few white nationalist websites</a>, as technology companies have started to do. We must wrestle with what freedom of speech really means, and what types of speech go too far, and what kinds of limitations on speech we can endorse.</p>
<p>The First Amendment right to free speech was never meant to protect the kind of hate-filled rhetoric that summoned the mass gathering in Charlottesville, during which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/13/woman-killed-at-white-supremacist-rally-in-charlottesville-named">anti-racist demonstrator Heather Heyer</a> was killed. In 2003, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/01-1107.ZS.html">the Supreme Court ruled</a>, in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_v._Black">Virginia v. Black</a>, that “cross burning done with the intent to intimidate has a long and pernicious history as a signal of impending violence.” In other words, there’s no First Amendment protection because a burning cross is meant to intimidate, not start a dialogue. But what constitutes a burning cross in the digital era?</p>
<h2>Stormfront, the epicenter of hate online</h2>
<p>I’ve been researching white supremacists for more than 20 years, and that work has straddled either side of the digital revolution. In the 1990s, I explored their movement through printed newsletters culled from the Klanwatch archive at the <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/">Southern Poverty Law Center</a>. As the web grew, my research shifted to the way these groups and their ideas moved onto the internet. My studies have included two white supremacist websites, one decommissioned and the other still active – Stormfront and martinlutherking.org. One is widely viewed as having run afoul of free speech protections; the other, at least as disturbing, has not yet been seen that way.</p>
<p>The Stormfront website, the online progenitor of (as its tagline touted) “white pride worldwide,” launched in 1995. Over more than two decades, Stormfront amassed more than <a href="http://mashable.com/2017/08/28/stormfront-white-supremacist-site-down/">300,000 registered users</a> and offered a haven for hate online. Since 2009, there have been nearly <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/stormfront">100 homicides</a> attributable to registered members of the site, prompting the Southern Poverty Law Center to call it “the <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/20140401/white-homicide-worldwide">murder capital</a> of the internet.” </p>
<p>All that time it was largely ignored by the tech companies that effectively allowed it to exist, by selling server space and offering domain name registration.</p>
<p>Since July 2017, the <a href="https://lawyerscommittee.org/mission/">Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law</a>, a civil rights nonprofit founded at the <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zFtYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YPoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6608,1876816&dq=lawyers+committee+for+civil+rights+under+law&hl=en">suggestion of President John F. Kennedy</a>, had been trying to focus tech companies’ attention on the violent and hateful content on Stormfront. The argument the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and its allies made was that “Stormfront crossed the line of permissible speech and incited and promoted violence,” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/29/stormfront-neo-nazi-hate-site-murder-internet-pulled-offline-web-com-civil-rights-action">the group’s executive director told the Guardian</a>. </p>
<p>In the wake of the violence in Charlottesville, that effort gained significant traction, ultimately chasing Stormfront off the internet. First, there was a move to <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/08/racist-daily-stormer-goes-down-again-as-cloudflare-drops-support/">boot The Daily Stormer</a>, a different white supremacist site, offline. Then, Network Solutions responded to the Lawyers’ Committee’s requests and <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/28/another-neo-nazi-site-stormfront-is-shut-down/">revoked Stormfront’s domain name</a>. Without an active domain name, ordinary web users can’t access the site, even though the content still remains on Stormfront’s servers. </p>
<p>(The sites have not been completely silenced: Some of their content is accessible to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/24/daily-stormer-has-officially-retreated-to-the-dark-web/">people using the Tor Network</a>, and some <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/what-happens-when-the-internet-tries-to-silence-white-supremacy-20170828">is being posted on the social networking site Gab</a>, which supporters are then distributing on larger social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.)</p>
<p>With its decades-long trail of destruction, Stormfront is certainly a digital-era version of a cross burning. That makes it a soft target for fighting white supremacy online: Of course we should hold its hosting companies accountable and demand that its advocacy of white supremacist terror and violence be taken offline.</p>
<p>But more foreboding in some ways, and more difficult to address, are what are called “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444809105345">cloaked sites</a>,” those that conceal their authorship to disguise a political agenda – a precursor to today’s “fake news” sites.</p>
<h2>Looking for Dr. King</h2>
<p>At first glance, the martinlutherking.org website appears to be a clumsy tribute to the civil rights leadership of <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html">Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr</a>. “It looks, you know, just like an individual created it,” said one of the young people <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780742561588/Cyber-Racism-White-Supremacy-Online-and-the-New-Attack-on-Civil-Rights">I interviewed</a> about their impressions of the site. Only at the very bottom of the page – where most people would never see it – does the page reveal its true source: “Hosted by Stormfront.” </p>
<p>Don Black, an <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/don-black">ideologically committed white supremacist</a>, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keith-thomson/white-supremacist-site-ma_b_809755.html">launched this cloaked site in 1999</a>, a few years after he started Stormfront, and it has been online continuously since then. As of August 30, the site <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170830180836/http://martinlutherking.org/">remains online</a>.</p>
<p>The site’s invitation to “Join the MLK Discussion Forum” might seem innocuous, but the discussion is not only about King himself or racial justice in America. The topics in the forum read like excerpts from the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/magazine/what-an-uncensored-letter-to-mlk-reveals.html">FBI’s efforts</a> to <a href="http://www.salon.com/2000/01/24/mlk/">defame King</a>, alleging communism, plagiarism and sexual infidelity. The site is an attempt to undermine hard-won legal, political, social and moral <a href="https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/initiatives/civil-rights-history-project">victories of the civil rights era</a>. </p>
<h2>The harm of white supremacy</h2>
<p>The fact that Stormfront is offline but martinlutherking.org isn’t suggests that we aren’t very sophisticated yet in our thinking about what kinds of risks white supremacy poses. While Stormfront is an obvious, overt threat to people’s lives, the cloaked site is a more subtle and insidious threat to the underlying moral argument for civil rights. Both are dangers to democracy. </p>
<p>White supremacy is corrosive. <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/01/02/i-dont-think-were-free-in-america-an-interview-with-bryan-stevenson/">Bryan Stevenson</a>, a legal scholar, activist and a leading critic of our failure to address racism in the U.S., <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/progressivepicks/item/30545-bryan-stevenson-on-mass-incarceration-racial-injustice-we-all-need-mercy-we-all-need-justice">says</a> “the era of slavery created a lasting ideology of white supremacy; a doctrine of ‘otherness’ got assigned to people of color with dreadful consequences. That narrative has never seriously been confronted.” </p>
<p>What is at stake in both the fight over monuments and domain names is the same: our collective decision to perpetuate – or undo – the system of ideas that claims those in the category “white” are more deserving than everyone else of citizenship, voting, jobs, health, safety, of life itself.</p>
<p>If Americans are serious about wanting to dismantle white supremacy (and this remains an open question), then we are going to have to learn to see burning crosses in our midst, and seriously confront how this destructive set of ideas is part of the fabric of our culture. But if we want a society that respects human rights and rejects white supremacy, we can begin, in my view, by refusing to grant platforms for harmful ideas, on white nationalist websites and in monuments to the Confederacy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83185/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessie Daniels has received funding from The MacArthur Foundation, Mellon Foundation and Ford Foundation. </span></em></p>Two websites, one taken offline, the other still active, raise hard questions about how prepared Americans are to deal with free speech about white supremacy, in both monuments and domain names.Jessie Daniels, Professor, City University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/830042017-08-30T08:06:55Z2017-08-30T08:06:55ZWhite supremacists are on the march, but the Ku Klux Klan is history<p>When Donald Trump repeatedly equated the far-right activists who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia with the anti-fascist counter-protesters, the media’s reaction was swift and clear. The next covers of both the New Yorker and The Economist featured cartoons of Trump and a Ku Klux Klan hood. In one, the president guides a ship of state with a sail shaped like a hood; in the other, he shouts into a megaphone designed to look like the infamous white headpiece. </p>
<p>To many commentators, the Klan costume is now the perfect visual sleight with which to decry Trump’s cack-handed false equivalence. After all, hoods and burning crosses are the most potent icons of American white supremacy, an easy shorthand for racism and bigotry. But despite the scenes of extrovert white supremacists on the march with burning torches in Charlottesville, something important has changed: today, there is essentially no such thing as “the Klan”. </p>
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<p>Its brand began to evaporate as long ago as 1944, when the Internal Revenue Service <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/us/29kennedy.html">turned up an unpayable debt</a> stemming from the organisation’s lucrative glory days in the 1920s. The debt was never repaid, meaning that those who would use the name today must settle it, which – thanks to compound interest – now stretches into the tens of millions.</p>
<p>The upshot is that today there are many different, equally horrible organisations designed to spread hate, all using the word “Klan”, but unable to call themselves simply the Ku Klux Klan. The Southern Poverty Law Centre, which tracks hate groups across the US, <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/ku-klux-klan">currently counts 130 such groups</a>. They total some 5,000 to 8,000 members. Few have more than regional appeal; very few have statewide reach, and none are national. </p>
<p>Some groups share their anti-Semitic vitriol with neo-Nazi organisations, drawing on modern paganism, usually based around the <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/the-new-religion-of-choice-for-white-supremacists-8af2a69a3440/">neo-Norse</a> mythologies. Some are <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QCuaQSZkGkQC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=%22race+war%22+survivalists&source=bl&ots=kdLtaiecah&sig=2LHpJKzkSOEDz3URgPq-PZuWGnc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjT2qfN3fzVAhWLC8AKHdajCyUQ6AEIRzAH#v=onepage&q=%22race%20war%22%20survivalists&f=false">militia-survivalists</a> preparing for the Wagnerian denouement of US civilisation in a “race war”. Still others focus on what they call the “White Holocaust” of abortion, which they claim disproportionately targets Caucasian babies, or adhere to “traditional” white supremacy grounded in extreme white Anglo-Saxon protestant ideals.</p>
<h2>The bad old days</h2>
<p>Frightening though this may sound, this is far from a return to the KKK’s 1920s heyday. Back then, it was a true mass movement, <a href="https://priceonomics.com/when-the-kkk-was-a-pyramid-scheme/">pyramid-selling membership</a> to millions of people in every state in the US and some of Canada; it even harboured ambitions of establishing “Klaverns” worldwide. Nor are we seeing a return to the Klans’ ultra-violent backlashes against civil rights in the 1870s or 1950s, when they commanded considerable, if localised, support.</p>
<p>The media should be careful about labelling far right groups or activists as “the Klan” just because they have associated views. This gives the oxygen of publicity to the ideological remnants of a group that hasn’t really existed for 70 years. </p>
<p>This was a different matter when the Klan was in full force. In 1921, the New York World famously ran 21 anti-Klan front-page articles, exposing the group’s awful activities day after day with large-point headlines – “Ku Klux Made Jews and Negroes Target for Racial Hatreds”, “Bitter Anti-Catholic Propaganda Peddled by Officials of Klan”. </p>
<p>These headlines spurred a full investigation by a House of Representatives committee, where the founder of the Klan, “Imperial Wizard” <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40578787">William Joseph Simmons</a>, successfully defended the order against claims of corruption, violence and bigotry. In a widely reported and memorable phrase, he <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7JrlCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT152&lpg=PT152&dq=%E2%80%9Cinnocent+as+the+breath+of+an+angel%E2%80%9D+klan&source=bl&ots=peEMdyXcSo&sig=W2Sncv-_Zey03ipXZ3cBeZymT3Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0qbaryvzVAhXKLMAKHU4SDP8Q6AEIODAE#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9Cinnocent%20as%20the%20breath%20of%20an%20angel%E2%80%9D%20klan&f=false">argued</a> his Klan was as “innocent as the breath of an angel”.</p>
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<p>Thankfully, few if any believe such claptrap today. But that’s no reason for complacency. It should shock us that the Klans and their allies feel confident enough to take part in a public rally on the scale of Charlottesville, and that they feel others in the US might support them. Nevertheless, they almost certainly don’t have popular backing and there will not be a return to the dark days when the KKK enjoyed mass national membership, or regional sympathy. </p>
<p>Today, as always in the past, the Klans’ grab-bag ideology of hatreds and grievances contains the seeds of its own destruction. Publicity has the power to show “Klansmen” for what they really are: a collection of sad, dysfunctional, bigots who both celebrate their social exclusion and plot the downfall of those who exclude them. </p>
<p>History shows us they will never be able to unite under one banner, at least not for very long. But it would be a tragedy if a lack of historical context in the coverage of current events gives the wrong impression, helping Klansmen to achieve any form of unity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83004/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristofer Allerfeldt receives funding from ESRC </span></em></p>Far from the millions-strong mass movement of years gone by, today’s ‘Klan’ is really just a smattering of assorted local hate groups.Kristofer Allerfeldt, Senior Lecturer in History, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/826352017-08-24T00:46:11Z2017-08-24T00:46:11ZIs Trump emboldening right-wing extremism in Canada?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182866/original/file-20170821-27077-as141w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C78%2C3663%2C2404&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">At a news conference at Trump Tower earlier this month, President Donald Trump defends as "fine people" those who marched at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., that left a counter-protester dead. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.cpimages.com/fotoweb/cpimages_details.pop.fwx?position=43&archiveType=ImageFolder&sorting=ModifiedTimeAsc&search=trump%20and%20(FQYFD%20contains(20170810~~20170818))&fileId=7ED4E565C8CEED275AEAE4A023E6F0DBFE75CC55B6586039E8D351704E8E44E5D64DFDF4CDC77E89E0AC1315BE069FBC25576A972C10B390B910651727E2C0824659CEF5EB788C8374161729B1649C42BF6456ED21791FBE5207BA5E6463C355F7486DFD09BE5DC4EF87B3CF47A62F46">(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The events in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/fights-in-advance-of-saturday-protest-in-charlottesville/2017/08/12/155fb636-7f13-11e7-83c7-5bd5460f0d7e_story.html?utm_term=.100b7524fa77">Charlottesville, Va.</a> sent shockwaves of horror across the United States and the world. </p>
<p>It seems neo-Nazi ideas are held by great numbers of people — including the president of the United States himself. </p>
<p>But white-nationalist rallies are hardly unique to the United States — <a href="http://globalnews.ca/news/3670776/white-nationalist-groups-canada-on-the-rise/">several groups here in Canada</a> have planned their own rallies in major cities including Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. In Québec City, <a href="http://globalnews.ca/news/3680211/duelling-protests-coming-to-quebec-city/">La Meute held a rally on Aug. 20</a> that was met with counterprotests by various anti-fascist and anti-racism groups.</p>
<p>What’s more, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/08/17/charlottesville-canadians-who-attended-white-supremacist-rally_a_23106708/">two Québec men also attended</a> the white supremacist rally in Virginia in which a woman was killed.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307971749_Right_Wing_Extremism_in_Canada_An_Environmental_Scan_2015">A recent study on right-wing extremism in Canada</a> has shown that there are about 100 active groups operating across the country, and that between 1985 and 2014, right-wing extremism was responsible for more than 120 violent incidents. Despite all of this activity, that’s nonetheless a small fraction compared to the <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map">917 hate groups</a> currently operating in the U.S. according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.</p>
<h2>Increase in hate?</h2>
<p>The recent incidents in Canada follow a string of events over the years that suggest a disturbing increase in hate, particularly against Muslims.</p>
<p>Last January, a shooter <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/multiple-deaths-injuries-mosque-shooting-quebec-city-canada-n713976">killed six people and injured 17</a> at a mosque in Ste-Foy, Que. The <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec-city-mosque-attack-suspect-known-for-right-wing-online-posts/article33833044/">social media activity</a> of the accused shooter, Alexandre Bissonnette, shows he admired Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen for their anti-immigration policies. </p>
<p>More recently, the request from a group of Muslims to purchase land for their own cemetery in St-Apollinaire, Que., was <a href="https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec-town-rejects-plan-to-build-muslim-cemetery-in-narrow-vote/article35704826/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&">rejected</a> by the town’s voters during a referendum. <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/d7pmk7/la-meute-the-illusions-and-delusions-of-quebecs-largest-right-wing-group">La Meute</a> (the Wolf Pack in English) was reportedly involved in the “No” campaign against the establishment of the Muslim cemetery. </p>
<p>A few days following the referendum, in the town of St. Honoré, a <a href="http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/racist-sign-reappears-in-saguenay-after-muslim-cemetery-project-revived">racist sign</a> with the words “Saguenay, ville blanche” (Saguenay, white city) was placed over the original Saguenay cemetery sign. At the same time, in Sherbrooke, a city near the U.S. border, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/racist-sign-saguenay-1.4213773">anti-immigration stickers</a> were posted by the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/inside-quebec-far-right-alt-right-1.3919964">Fédération des Québécois de Souche</a> (FQS), a group that opposes mass immigration. </p>
<p>Just last week, a <a href="https://www.friendsofsimonwiesenthalcenter.com/news/neo-nazi-flyers-discovered-in-vancouver-mailboxes">neo-Nazi flyer</a> containing the statement “The World Defeated the Wrong Enemy” and promoting a pro-Hitler documentary was found in several mailboxes in Vancouver. Other right-wing organizations like the <a href="http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/soldiers-of-odin-splinter-in-canada-over-racist-agenda-of-far-right-groups-leadership-in-finland/wcm/b6d1b3c5-4bbf-464b-89fb-a45e36bad6d9">Soldiers of Odin</a>, <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/mgvwwx/the-political-aspirations-of-quebecs-far-right">Pegida-Québec</a> and <a href="https://news.vice.com/story/members-of-far-right-quebec-group-cheered-on-the-quebec-city-mosque-terror-attack">Atalante</a> are also quite active. </p>
<p>So why are we seeing more public manifestations of right-wing extremist groups here in Canada? </p>
<p>Blame Donald Trump.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182893/original/file-20170822-5328-1bcjdgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182893/original/file-20170822-5328-1bcjdgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182893/original/file-20170822-5328-1bcjdgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182893/original/file-20170822-5328-1bcjdgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182893/original/file-20170822-5328-1bcjdgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182893/original/file-20170822-5328-1bcjdgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182893/original/file-20170822-5328-1bcjdgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Right-wing demonstrators, member of La Meute, march on Aug. 20 in Quebec City.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The increase evidently coincides with the Trump presidency. Trump’s call for <a href="http://time.com/4366912/donald-trump-orlando-shooting-muslim-ban/">a ban of Muslim immigration</a> to the U.S. during his campaign, his <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/19/trump-wants-to-build-30-foot-high-wall-at-mexican-border.html">“Build the Wall”</a> rhetoric and his recent <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2017/7/6/15927590/trump-alt-right-poland-defend-west-civilization-g20">“clash of civilizations” speech in Warsaw</a> have clearly emboldened right-wing groups. </p>
<p>Most of Trump’s controversial statements revolve around issues related to immigration and the spectre of endangered Western values. This precisely aligns itself to right-wing fears of a <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2017/8/15/16141456/renaud-camus-the-great-replacement-you-will-not-replace-us-charlottesville-white">“Great Replacement”</a>, where some believe that Western civilization will disappear and be replaced by the values and culture of immigrants. Islam, sharia law, and people originating from Muslim countries are seen as the current threat. </p>
<h2>Extremism breeds extremism</h2>
<p>For example, here in Canada, <a href="http://globalnews.ca/news/3620457/kevin-j-johnston-freedom-report-charged-hate-crimes/">a man was recently arrested on charges of hate crime</a> due to his anti-Muslim comments and what he perceived as the threat of Islamization of Canada.</p>
<p>Recent terror attacks in Europe and North America have also contributed to the current climate of suspicion and fear, and have spurred debate about liberal values such as diversity, freedom of speech, multiculturalism and individual rights and freedoms. </p>
<p>But terror attacks have also created a bigger problem: the potential fracture of our societies, with individuals pitted against each other. </p>
<p>Extremism can often breed extremism. The polarization of ideas and divisions can worsen due to the perception of a clash of values. This state of affairs plays perfectly into the hands of groups like ISIS that promote the idea that the West is at war against Islam. </p>
<p>It’s therefore not surprising that <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/01/30/jihadist-groups-praise-trumps-travel-ban-as-a-victory-for-their-cause.html">ISIS sympathizers rejoiced</a> when Trump called for a Muslim ban: the president’s rhetoric and actions exactly proved their point.</p>
<p>ISIS sympathizers also see Trump’s rhetoric as the fulfilment of a prediction from Anwar al-Awlaki, the deceased but still influential domestic terrorist and alleged al Qaeda recruiter <a href="https://archive.org/stream/Anwar.Awlaki.Audio.Archive/Message.To.The.American.People.English_djvu.txt">who warned in 2010</a> that the West would turn against its Muslim citizens. That echoed similar warnings from the late al Qaeda mastermind, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/24/world/middleeast/bin-laden-says-west-is-waging-war-against-islam.html">Osama bin Laden</a>, and by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/15/world/middleeast/isis-releases-recording-said-to-be-by-its-reclusive-leader.html">Abu Bakr al-Bagdadhi</a>, the current leader of the Islamic State. </p>
<p>In fact, there are ideological similarities between right-wing extremists and groups like ISIS. Both are fuelled by the negation of the “other;” both are intolerant and feel threatened by diversity; both believe in a clash of civilizations. </p>
<h2>Extremist recruiters prey on the vulnerable</h2>
<p><a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002477/247764e.pdf">There are various routes leading to extremism</a> that results in the types of rallies and racist incidents we’re seeing today on both sides of the border.</p>
<p>Some individuals slowly embrace extremist views. Others readily adopt such ideas as consequences of real or perceived grievances, frustrations, personal setbacks, failures or lack of purpose. People are more susceptible to extremist ideas when faced with an <a href="http://www.euronews.com/2017/05/08/extremists-prey-the-young-and-vulnerable">“identity crisis,”</a> which plunges them into a state of vulnerability, doubt and fear. </p>
<p>Extremist ideas are purposely framed in a way that favours the construction of social identity. Social ideological markers naturally lead people into a process of self-categorization, where their identity progressively crystallizes into a collective “us” versus a collective “them” paradigm. It’s a kind of “in-group”/ “out-group” dynamic. The “us”/“in-group” is perceived positively, whereas “them”/“out-group” is seen negatively, as a social entity to be opposed and defeated. </p>
<p>The “individual” self becomes one with a larger “collective” self, where the values and actions of the group becomes the measure by which one begins to think and act. </p>
<p>We’re seeing this now in the clashes between white supremacist and anti-racist factions, where each group envisions its opponent as the “out-group.” Rivalry and competition between groups serve as way to maintain influence on group members, as well as sustain their identity and need for purpose.</p>
<p>Having a better understanding of how extremist ideas impact individuals is one way to counter their negative effect on society.</p>
<p>In the end, what’s at stake amid the current rise of extremism is the breakdown of our liberal democracies. The only way we can avoid the potential social fracture on the horizon is to make sure that our liberalism does not become illiberal.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82635/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>André Gagné does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The right-wing extremist group La Meute recently held a rally in Québec City that put Canadian racism in the spotlight. Is Donald Trump emboldening hate groups in Canada?André Gagné, Associate Professor specializing in Politico-Religious Extremism and Violence, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/828102017-08-21T23:25:40Z2017-08-21T23:25:40ZWhy it’s a mistake to celebrate the crackdown on hate websites<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182865/original/file-20170821-4943-zleiec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=249%2C922%2C3516%2C2074&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Private companies are policing online hate without independent oversight or regulation, which has serious implications and poses risks for basic human rights and freedoms.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hate-text-on-illuminated-buttons-keyboard-393925249">(Shutterstock)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The torch-lit march by armed white supremacists recently in Charlottesville, Va., continues to generate debate about how hate groups should be regulated. Amid growing public pressure following the march, internet companies rushed to remove from their platforms websites espousing violent hate speech. </p>
<p>GoDaddy <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/14/godaddy-bans-neo-nazi-site-daily-stormer-for-disparaging-woman-killed-at-charlottesville-rally/?utm_term=.f4ff1716cacf">terminated its domain services</a> to neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer, as did <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/google-cancels-domain-registration-for-daily-stormer-2017-8">Google</a>. Cloudflare, a company that protects websites from online attacks, also <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/17/cloudflare-ceo-calls-for-a-system-to-regulate-hateful-internet-content/">banned</a> the hate website from its platform. <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/kevincollier/russia-orders-internet-providers-not-to-host-the-daily">Russia ordered the site barred</a> from being hosted in the country.</p>
<p><a href="http://yorku.academia.edu/NatashaTusikov/Papers">My research</a> and my book <a href="http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520291225"><em>Chokepoints: Global Private Regulation on the Internet</em></a> demonstrate that many internet companies already remove content and ban users “voluntarily” — that is, in the absence of legislation or any judicial processes. Major intermediaries including Google, PayPal, GoDaddy, Twitter and Facebook voluntarily police their platforms for child sexual abuse content, extremism and the illicit trade in counterfeit goods.</p>
<p>Many people understandably applaud these efforts to stamp out hate speech and other objectionable content. However, internet companies’ efforts as de facto regulators of speech raises serious questions: How should online content be regulated? By whom? </p>
<p>I do not support white supremacists and I am not arguing against some policing of such speech. Rather, I am saying that we need to consider seriously how to regulate online content as the next case may not be as clear cut.</p>
<p>There are significant problems with relying upon powerful companies to police the internet because their enforcement practices are troublingly opaque and prone to arbitrary interpretation.</p>
<h2>Disturbing precedent</h2>
<p>In a sobering contrast to the cheering of internet companies for their public opposition to the Daily Stormer, Cloudflare’s CEO Matthew Prince offered a nuanced, cautionary perspective, warning that withdrawing services from hate groups in response to public pressure sets a troubling precedent in policing online speech.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://blog.cloudflare.com/why-we-terminated-daily-stormer/">blog post</a> explaining Cloudflare’s actions against the Daily Stormer, Prince argued that the company considers due process a “more important principle” than freedom of speech. Due process, he said, means that “you should be able to know the rules a system will follow if you participate in that system.” This statement aptly captures the inherent problems with intermediaries working as de facto regulators of content and online behaviour.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182859/original/file-20170821-8916-vfvt57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182859/original/file-20170821-8916-vfvt57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182859/original/file-20170821-8916-vfvt57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182859/original/file-20170821-8916-vfvt57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182859/original/file-20170821-8916-vfvt57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182859/original/file-20170821-8916-vfvt57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182859/original/file-20170821-8916-vfvt57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke, seen here in a 2015 file photo, has defended the Ottawa e-commerce company’s decision to keep hosting an online store for the far-right U.S. organization Breitbart Media.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.cpimages.com/fotoweb/cpimages_details.pop.fwx?position=2&archiveType=ImageFolder&sorting=ModifiedTimeAsc&search=shopify&fileId=7ED4E565C8CEED276553137C3F07278F0211563F5E7047DF3AAB663AE59BB0CF1642B0B80D34257E6710EC2568FB7698B59B4D70A14C35A58152C97161CDE0D6B04E7CE9AA485A90E4AEC54C277A369E66C455879B17008242F841C1FF39A6F82A1B1FF576DC98DF26628245CD2638ED3EB3DDF943815094B22114FE97E171BA684A0CED4335A6EA6C90C8EFD4936170">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Earlier this year, <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/shopify-breitbart-store">Shopify employees</a> and hundreds of <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/shopify-ceo-tobi-lutke-defends-decision-to-host-breitbart-1.3973798">thousands of people</a> urged and <a href="https://actions.sumofus.org/a/shopify-stop-endorsing-hate-2">petitioned</a> the online commerce platform to stop hosting far-right Breitbart Media’s internet store. Reinstated executive chairman <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/18/bannon-returns-to-breitbart-news-as-executive-chairman-241806">Stephen Bannon</a> calls <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/08/stephen-bannon-donald-trump-alt-right-breitbart-news/">Breitbart “the platform for the alt-right.”</a> The so-called “alt-right” – a term popularized by <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/richard-bertrand-spencer-0">Richard Bertrand Spencer</a> – covers a mix of white supremacist, separatist, neo-Nazi, fascist, racist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic and populist conservative ideologies. </p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/@tobi/in-support-of-free-speech-275d62670203">Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke said he was defending free speech</a> as the Ottawa company continued to host Breitbart’s online store under threat of <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/4030797/employees-who-quit-shopify-over-its-breitbart-ties-can-find-new-jobs-through-this-service">employees resigning</a>. After public <a href="https://www.wired.com/2017/02/shopifys-breitbart-fight-proves-days-tech-take-side/">pressure</a> and a grassroots campaign dubbed <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23DeleteShopify">#DeleteShopify</a> led to scrutiny that revealed more <a href="http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/guns-weed-escorts-shopify-sites-offering-much-more-than-breitbart">questionable business</a>, Shopify was <a href="https://www.wired.com/2017/02/shopifys-breitbart-fight-proves-days-tech-take-side/">forced</a> to adopt an <a href="http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/shopify-introduces-acceptable-use-policy-for-vendors-after-public-outcry">“Acceptable use policy.”</a> </p>
<p>The contrasting examples of The Daily Stormer and its deletion by internet companies, and Shopify’s steadfast support for Breitbart, demonstrate extremes of a dilemma that only promises to intensify. </p>
<h2>Arbitrary policies, regulation</h2>
<p>Internet intermediaries have the potential to be powerful regulators on a wide variety of issues because they can act swiftly and without court orders. Importantly, they have latitude to censor any content or ban users under their terms-of-service agreements. </p>
<p>PayPal reserves the right to terminate its services to users “<a href="https://www.paypal.com/ca/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full">for any reason and at any time</a>,” language that is echoed in most intermediaries’ service agreements. The capacity for arbitrary regulation is thus baked into intermediaries’ internal rules.</p>
<p>Prince cautioned that Cloudflare’s action against the Daily Stormer sets a precedent for intermediaries to police speech without court orders requiring them to do so. </p>
<p>These intermediaries often act at the behest of governments that prefer companies to be the public (but largely unaccountable) face of internet regulation. But those firms are generally ill-equipped to distinguish legality from illegality, causing wrongful takedowns and mistakenly targeting lawful behaviour. </p>
<p>Equally problematic: Intermediaries’ enforcement processes are often opaque as their content moderators arbitrarily interpret their complex, fast-changing internal rules. These problems are compounded by intermediaries’ growing use of automated tools to identify and remove problematic content on their platforms.</p>
<p>There is also the concern of so-called mission-creep when rules first enacted against child abuse or terrorism – noteworthy catalysts for enforcement action – are later applied to other distinctly less-harmful issues, such as the unauthorized downloading of copyrighted content. </p>
<h2>Dystopian future is here</h2>
<p>Regulatory efforts commonly expand from censoring violent hate speech to other speech that may be considered controversial by some, such as that of Black Lives Matter. As well, governments worldwide regularly pressure intermediaries to <a href="https://citizenlab.ca/2017/07/analyzing-censorship-of-the-death-of-liu-xiaobo-on-wechat-and-weibo/">censor and track</a> critics and political opponents.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182864/original/file-20170821-8916-946ju2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182864/original/file-20170821-8916-946ju2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182864/original/file-20170821-8916-946ju2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182864/original/file-20170821-8916-946ju2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182864/original/file-20170821-8916-946ju2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182864/original/file-20170821-8916-946ju2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182864/original/file-20170821-8916-946ju2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182864/original/file-20170821-8916-946ju2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Watched by police, protesters at an internet freedom rally wear face masks depicting the Big Brother character from George Orwell’s novel, <em>Nineteen Eighty-Four</em>, in St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 16.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.cpimages.com/fotoweb/cpimages_details.pop.fwx?position=7&archiveType=ImageFolder&sorting=ModifiedTimeAsc&search=internet%20and%20censorship&fileId=7ED4E565C8CEED276553137C3F07278F0211563F5E7047DF3AAB663AE59BB0CF1642B0B80D34257E6710EC2568FB7698B59B4D70A14C35A5085499F7776FCE74F2B7765E8750034730859FC82D50AED97735022D8A93877CAEE024A68379F6E1447D44B77EF9959BCEC3DBF06283ADB7969E8801BFB596F74002E6DC2B9339C0DDC87CEC791C3441B3243EB4DCD17BA004744DEF1EFF533D">(AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When major intermediaries become go-to regulators responsible for policing content on behalf of governments or in response to high-profile protests, their already considerable power increases. U.S.-based internet companies already dominate many industry sectors, including search, advertising, domain registration, payment and social media. Cloudflare’s Prince rightly <a href="https://blog.cloudflare.com/why-we-terminated-daily-stormer/amp/">warned</a> that by depending on a “few giant networks,” a “small number of companies will largely determine what can and cannot be online.”</p>
<p>This dystopian future is already here.</p>
<p>The takedown of the Daily Stormer undoubtedly makes the world a better place. But do we really want companies like Facebook and Twitter to decide – independently, arbitrarily and secretly – what content we can access and share? </p>
<p>Given these seemingly intractable problems, what can we do? First, we should avoid governing on the basis of protests or media pressure. Instead, <a href="https://rankingdigitalrights.org/">we need a clear set of rules</a> to enable intermediaries to respond consistently, transparently and with respect for due process, as Prince recommended.</p>
<p>Governments should clarify the nature of and, importantly, the limitations of intermediaries’ regulatory responsibilities. Finally, we must stop governing in response to specific crises – so-called “fake news,” terrorism and hate groups – and instead think critically about how we can and should govern the internet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82810/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natasha Tusikov receives funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Development Grant and has received funding from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada Contributions Program. </span></em></p>After violence in Charlottesville, internet firms are erasing bigoted content. But should private companies serve as unaccountable regulators and be responsible for policing complex social issues?Natasha Tusikov, Assistant Professor, Criminology, Department of Social Science, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/767882017-05-14T20:12:03Z2017-05-14T20:12:03ZFairytale no more: when love turns to hatefully ever after<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168519/original/file-20170509-5468-10lyib6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Little good comes when love turns to hate.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s often said that the opposite to love is not hate, it’s indifference. Why then are some of us so seemingly fickle in our ability to switch from love to hate in an instant? </p>
<p>To understand hate, we must first (try to) understand love.</p>
<p>Psychologists are not even in agreement that love is truly an emotion. <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_studies_the_brain_in_love/transcript?language=en">Some argue</a> it is more a form of temporary insanity, a sweet madness that allows us to overlook our loved one’s failings at least long enough to procreate and, for a lucky few, remain truly, deeply, madly <a href="http://neuro.hms.harvard.edu/harvard-mahoney-neuroscience-institute/brain-newsletter/and-brain-series/love-and-brain">attached</a> until death do us part. </p>
<p>Love certainly brings with it a strong “approach” motivation. We are drawn almost magnetically to having close and intimate contact with our loved one. The physiology of love is well understood – excited heartbeat, nervous sweating, ardent respiration and a cascade of happy neurotransmitters. </p>
<p>One aspect of falling in love may actually help us understand how quickly we can switch to hate. In 1974, researchers conducted <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/30/4/510/">a fascinating experiment</a> in which they asked young men to cross a bridge to chat to an attractive female research assistant on the other side. One bridge was stable, the other rickety. Men who crossed the rickety bridge (thereby raising their heart rate and respiration via fear) were significantly more likely to ask the research assistant out on a post-interview date. </p>
<p>This study was interpreted as providing evidence for the <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1994.tb00607.x">Schachter and Singer model</a> of emotion – in the case of an uncertain cause of our physiological response, we seek out a rationale before “feeling” our subjective emotion. </p>
<p>In this case, the men’s adrenaline rush was really caused by the unstable bridge. But they wrongly attributed their physiological response to the female research assistant, believing themselves to be attracted to her.</p>
<p>In other words, love could just be a massive attribution error. Hence the advice from dating experts to take your person of interest out on an “exciting” date – basically to fool them into thinking the emotions they are feeling are in response to all of your thrilling qualities, rather than bungee jumping off a cliff. </p>
<p>As the physiology underpinning love and hate are very similar (increased heart rate, respiration and so on), a simple perceptual change could transform one’s object of desire to object of derision. Hence our collective understanding of that quick switch that can lead to “crimes of passion” or “love-hate relationships”. </p>
<p>Neurologically, <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0003556">researchers have found</a> a unique pattern of activity for hate in the brain that is distinct from the pattern for love. This activity involves parts of the cerebral cortex that are responsible for planning and organisational skills.</p>
<p>In love, large parts of the cerebral cortex are deactivated; in hate, only small parts are deactivated. In love individuals might shut down negative judgments; in hate individuals might shut down their ability to self-reflect.</p>
<p>Hate also has an “approach” <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1350-4126.2005.00116.x/full">motivational basis</a> focused on devaluing, diminishing or destroying another’s wellbeing. Hate is fuelled by anger, the primary goal of which is to remove a perceived obstacle, such as the hated other. </p>
<p>Cognitive attributions <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&uid=2004-22194-003">reportedly</a> sustain hate via moral judgements that the hated other is evil. Research suggests that hate might serve as a self-protective mechanism that masks insecurities resulting from feeling helpless and weak, <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230610255_4">offering psychological protection</a>. </p>
<p>Hate is sometimes the reaction to people we have loved and invested ourselves in, which manifests itself when an agreement that was vital to the maintenance of the relationship is broken, such as separation.</p>
<p>But what is going on when hate fails to diminish after a period of time? Might it serve as a bizarre form of attachment? Might hate even serve as an attempt to maintain a bond (no matter how dysfunctionally) with a former loved one – for example, through rumination, stalking or abusive behaviour?</p>
<p>This peculiar, ongoing hateful attachment to a previous partner causes serious problems in our society. In 2015, there were <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats%5Cabs@.nsf/0/893C1288678FD232CA2568A90013939C?Opendocument">23,063 divorces</a> in Australia involving 42,303 children. With the majority of parents able to move on from their separation, approximately 10% to 15% remain entrenched in conflict.</p>
<p>This minority <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01926187.2010.530194">reportedly</a> consumes an estimated 90% of court resources, and can involve litigation, withholding of children, denigration, involvement of child protection or other related family support services, withholding of financial resources and difficulties in shared parenting.</p>
<p>What hate does at the point of separation is clear – the primary purpose of maintaining hate beyond that is unknown. </p>
<p>One thing we do know is that little good ever comes from hate. More often than not it results in a lose-lose situation. Or, as Martin Luther King more eloquently noted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Hate is just as injurious to the hater as it is to the hated. Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality … Hate is too great a burden to bear.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76788/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Could it be all just a terrible misunderstanding? Researchers are increasingly turning to love to understand hate.Rachael Sharman, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of the Sunshine CoastDr Leanne Francia, PhD Candidate, University of the Sunshine CoastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/743532017-03-16T02:22:29Z2017-03-16T02:22:29ZHow online hate infiltrates social media and politics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160794/original/image-20170314-10763-ytfp4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">From person to person, the spread of online hate can be rapid.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/crowd-small-symbolic-3d-figures-network-36074200">Connections via shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In late February, the headline of a news commentary website that receives more than 2.8 million monthly visitors announced, “<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170309200734/http://www.dailystormer.com/philly-jews-destroy-another-one-of-their-own-graveyards-to-blame-trump/">Jews Destroy Another One of Their Own Graveyards to Blame Trump</a>.” The story, inspired by the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/02/26/dozens-of-headstones-vandalized-at-philadelphia-jewish-cemetery/">recent desecration of a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia</a>, was the seething fantasy of an anti-Semitic website known as the Daily Stormer. With only a headline, this site can achieve something no hate group could have accomplished 20 years ago: It can connect with a massive audience.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160367/original/image-20170310-19247-x8cvg1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160367/original/image-20170310-19247-x8cvg1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160367/original/image-20170310-19247-x8cvg1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160367/original/image-20170310-19247-x8cvg1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160367/original/image-20170310-19247-x8cvg1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160367/original/image-20170310-19247-x8cvg1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160367/original/image-20170310-19247-x8cvg1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160367/original/image-20170310-19247-x8cvg1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hate speech moves rapidly from the fringe to the mainstream.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170309200734/http://www.dailystormer.com/philly-jews-destroy-another-one-of-their-own-graveyards-to-blame-trump/">Screenshot of DailyStormer.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To whom, and how many, this latest conspiracy may travel is, in part, the story of “<a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/fake-news-33438">fake news</a>,” the phenomenon in which biased propaganda is disseminated as if it were objective journalism in an attempt to corrupt public opinion. My recent book on digital hate culture, “<a href="http://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9783319514239">Fanaticism, Racism, and Rage Online</a>,” explores the online underworld from which many of those false narratives originate. I investigate the lesser-known source of all this hate-laced “news” simmering in our public debates, helping to cultivate a distorted reality for its ardent believers and a fractured polity for the rest of us.</p>
<p>Looking at the most-visited websites of what were once <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/news/20020805/skinhead-rally-is-laughable-in-southern-town">diminished movements</a> – white supremacists, xenophobic militants and Holocaust deniers, to name a few – reveals a much-revitalized online culture. For example, according to <a href="https://www.similarweb.com/website/stormfront.org">SimilarWeb analytics</a>, Stormfront, the longest-standing white supremacist site, receives more than two million monthly visitors. That is half a million more than the <a href="http://www.naacp.org/">NAACP</a>, <a href="http://www.glaad.org/">GLAAD</a>, the <a href="http://www.adl.org/">Anti-Defamation League</a> and <a href="http://www.nclr.org/">National Council of La Raza</a> websites, combined.</p>
<p>But size and scope alone do not account for the unprecedented reach that these websites have found in the digital age. Their ascent mirrors the improbable rise of former KKK Imperial Wizard <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/david-duke">David Duke</a>, who shed his Klan robes for an eventual seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives. Today’s radical right is also remaking its profile, swapping swastikas and white-power rock for political blogs and news forums. The trappings may have changed, but the bigotry remains.</p>
<h2>Looking the part</h2>
<p>The American Renaissance hate site opens with a quote from Thomas Jefferson and an offering of timely news articles. These include borrowed headlines from The New York Times about looming deportation policies and Associated Press stories on Texas voter ID laws. But there is an ever-present fixation on nationality and race, as in original commentaries like “How I Saw the Light About Race.” Weaving together real news with racist views, the site stealthily positions the fringe ideas as aligned with the mainstream.</p>
<p>On the Occidental Observer (tagline: “White Identity, Interests, and Culture”), white nationalist contributors and a few former scholars speculate on forum topics like “The Holocaust Industry,” “Jewish Influence” and the “Racialization of America.” The Observer looks much like the homepage of any policy think tank, except for the conspiracy-driving anti-Semitic subtexts. </p>
<p>For online hate groups like this, perception is reality. The common emphasis on news and politics reflects a shift in the messages racist groups promote. Many no longer focus on white supremacy, but rather take the more accessible position of white victimization.</p>
<p>The headlines emanating from websites like the Daily Stormer allow contemporary racists to imagine they are now a minority race under siege. These narratives include an imagined onslaught of illegal immigrants, a fear of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170315192111/http://www.dailystormer.com/section/race-war/">black-on-white crime</a>, an equal rights movement that somehow infringes on religious freedom and a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170315192142/http://www.dailystormer.com/?s=The+Jews+behind+the+pro-Globalist+Super+Bowl+Ads">Jewish globalist machine</a> supposedly behind it all.</p>
<p>Hate rhetoric repackaged as politics and housed in websites that look just like any other online blog can attract, or even persuade, more moderate ideologues to wade into extremist waters. This “user-friendly” hate community is joining forces in a way that could never happen in the offline world. Thanks in part to this connectedness, these poisoned narratives are now spreading well beyond racist websites. </p>
<h2>How it travels</h2>
<p>The speed with which online hate travels is breathtaking. Two days after that Daily Stormer story on “Jews Destroying Their Own Graveyards,” David Duke discussed “<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170315192214/http://davidduke.com/dr-duke-and-andrew-anglin-expose-the-jewish-media-falso-flag-psych-war-to-stifle-criticism-of-jewish-media-domination/">the likelihood that the recent string of ‘anti-Semitic hate incidents’ are in fact false flag hoaxes</a>” on his podcast.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"835136526048714752"}"></div></p>
<p>The conspiracy had also begun to echo around Twitter, where Duke was sharing a link to his podcast and spreading a new hashtag: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/fakehatecrimes">#fakehatecrimes</a>. More people joined in, including followers tweeting “This is a hoax” and “Question the local rabbis.” A senior adviser to President Trump took to Twitter to advance his theory that ongoing threats to Jewish community centers could be <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/trump-adviser-suggests-democrats-are-threatening-jewish-centers-to-make-conservatives-look-bad/">linked to the Democrats</a>.</p>
<p>This is but one example of how, despite recent efforts to <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/11/15/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/93943194/">limit fanatical voices</a>, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/05/europe-hate-speech-social-media/484913/">social networks</a> have become incubators of toxic conspiracies. The topic of “hate crime hoaxes,” for example, has long been circulating through <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/HateCrimeHoaxes/">Reddit</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hate+crime+hoax">YouTube</a> and even <a href="https://www.facebook.com/myiannopoulos/videos/744338082370756/">Facebook</a>. Meanwhile, in the far-right blogosphere, sites like <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/milo/2016/05/02/hate-crime-hoaxes-growing-epidemic/">Breitbart</a>, <a href="https://www.infowars.com/man-arrested-for-jewish-center-bomb-threats-is-an-anti-trump-muslim-convert/">InfoWars</a> and <a href="http://www.wnd.com/2016/11/big-spike-in-hate-crimes-not-so-fast/">WorldNetDaily</a> dedicate more space to obsessively “debunking” hate crimes than actually reporting on them. These two worlds seamlessly come together on Twitter, where conspiracies intermix with <a href="https://twitter.com/ReturnOfTheOrb/status/836704421576912898">political diatribes</a>. </p>
<p>For hate groups, this is an unprecedented opportunity to finally plug their fringe movements into a mainstream circuit. As false narratives flow through the internet’s popular networks, they intermingle with legitimate information and gradually become washed of their radical origins in the process. It’s the same trajectory that drove the <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2011/04/birtherism-where-it-all-began-053563">birther conspiracy</a>. Questions about President Obama’s “true birthplace” began on the fringes of the web, found support in more traditional right-wing blogs like Free Republic, and then made their way onto television.</p>
<p>Technology columnist Farhad Manjoo <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/bb/does-the-internet-help-or-hurt-democracy">described this phenomenon</a>, which we’ve now seen morph into fake news:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The extreme points of views that we’re getting that couldn’t have been introduced into national discussion in the past are being introduced now by this sort of entry mechanism … people put it on blogs, and then it gets picked up by cable news, and then it becomes a national discussion.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Opportunistic politicians lend credibility</h2>
<p>There is little doubt that a key reason so much bad information has spilled over into today’s national discourse is politicians who embrace and perpetuate these narratives. Of course, doing so only gives the authors of conspiracy the very exposure they seek. </p>
<p>When, a year before the 2016 election, Donald Trump <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/nov/23/donald-trump/trump-tweet-blacks-white-homicide-victims/">tweeted false statistics</a> about the number of “whites killed by blacks” in America, white nationalists were listening. The evidence could be in seen in the celebratory headlines to follow in websites like Stormfront and Daily Stormer.</p>
<p>Credibility has always been an ultimate but elusive goal for extremists. But online, they’re learning how to dilute the message of bigotry with heavy doses of political conspiracy for which there is apparently a welcoming audience. They achieve victory simply by injecting enough fake news into the system to produce doubt and discord around our most critical cultural debates.</p>
<p>When he was asked about the recent anti-Semitic threats and vandalism, President Trump told the Pennsylvania attorney general the incident was “reprehensible.” But he then went on to speculate that it might have been committed “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/02/28/trump-is-reportedly-hinting-that-anti-semitic-incidents-are-false-flags-it-wouldnt-be-the-first-time/">to make others look bad</a>.” That feeds the very doubt that extremist groups thrive on. And the cycle continues.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74353/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam G. Klein does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Today’s radical right is remaking its profile, using online communications to spread its message farther and deeper into our society than ever possible before.Adam G. Klein, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Pace University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.