There is a fine line between online hate and free speech.
When free speech veers towards racism
bullying,
and abuse
it easily crosses the line separating free speech from hate.
Online hate is a rising problem with communication devices
such as phones and computers becoming more accessible.
Anyone can have access to the internet
and thus can easily contribute to the hate.
It is a vast topic
and the most common forms of online hate is cyberbullying,
online abuse,
threats to an individual or a group.
Online hate does not only mean sending specific messages
intending to hurt someone
but it can be through posting hate-oriented material on
social networking and video platforms.
Indirectly contributing to hate websites by funding them is also a form of online hate.
Common topics of online hate are transphobia and homophobia but the most common is racism.
So, what is online racism?
Online racism can take many forms, such as jokes
or comments that causes offence or hurt to specific ethnic groups.
Name-calling,
verbal abuse,
harassment,
intimidation
or public commentary
that inflames hostility towards certain ethnic groups are also considered as racism.
Who can be the victims of online racism?
Anyone and everyone
can be a victim of a racist or religious hate incident.
For example,
someone may wrongly believe that you are part of a certain racial group
that they are prejudiced against.
Or someone may target you because of your partner's race.
What is being done to counter online racism?
Many countries
have introduced a new legislation whereby companies have to remove clear cases of hate speech
within 24 hours.
In response to this,
Facebook has employed 1,200 staff to effectively process reports of abuse by its users.
Others are using artificial intelligence
to analyse content on social media sites screening for
keywords,
phrases
and symbols
that have been identified as indicators for possible racist content.
As millennials, we are proficient
on social media as we spend large amounts of our time on these platforms.
So we should also do our part to counter online racism
to create a better
and safer environment.
When encountered with racist content on:
flag the video or file an abuse report
and Youtube would then review the case and take the necessary actions.
click the 'report' tab which appears alongside the post.
The same thing goes for Instagram.
report the abusive user,
in which Twitter may suspend the account for violating its Terms of Service.
In the worst case scenario
or if none of the services mentioned above are available,
head to your neighbourhood police centre
or visit their website to file a report.
We can also help by
hashtagging online hate
to make other users more aware of the racist content of the post
and also notify the social media platform through this hashtag.
Together, we can create a safer
and more inclusive
online environment
free from racist,
hurtful
and hateful content
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