Past cases indicate that verbal crimen injuria is not that serious. But a landmark sentence in South Africa has changed that.
The free speech wars rage on but there is an essential difference between free speech and hate speech. Words shape the way we think about the world.
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Most Canadians are more than happy to support free speech, believing it to be the foundation of democracy. But for speech to be free it must be aligned to freedom itself.
Technology can help identify hate speech online, but it’s not a silver bullet solution.
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New laws, new tools and new research is required to combat the rise in online hate. That means both regulating social media companies, and making use of technology to help measure compliance.
Social media has become a place of vitriolic myths about Indigenous peoples in the wake of the Gerald Stanley trial for the killing of Colten Boushie. Here, a vigil in support of Colten Boushie’s family on Feb. 13, 2018.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Social media posts since Gerald Stanley’s acquittal have been saturated with vitriolic rants and myths. If reconciliation is to be more than an aspiration, settlers must acknowledge our culpability.
Indigenous, LGBT, Black and refugee youth are among the groups that are at a greater risk of cyberbullying than others. But youth can also be powerful agents of change.
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Cyberbullying has become destructive and feels unstoppable. Here is a five-step technique for dealing with it.
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.
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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?
A man breaks down next to the caskets of three of the six victims of the Quebec City mosque shooting during funeral services in February 2017 in Montreal.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
As Canadians, we shouldn’t blame U.S. President Donald Trump for the rise of hatred here. He may have emboldened the so-called alt-right in Canada, but it was flourishing long before his election.
Many are calling for government to step in to stop bots and the spread of fake news on sites like Facebook and Twitter. A media expert explains why this is a slippery slope.
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.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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.
A client whose hair she had been cutting for 20 years came in as usual, and then, without any prompting or preamble, launched into a tirade against Muslims.
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Schools and universities have a responsibility to protect students from hate speech while also exposing them to views that disrupt their ways of thinking and ideas of the world.
Kenyan authorities have arrested two WhatsApp group administrators for alleged hate speech.
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Kenya has published hate speech guidelines that target WhatsApp groups administrators, holding them responsible for offensive content.
Private companies are policing online hate without independent oversight or regulation, which has serious implications and poses risks for basic human rights and freedoms.
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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?
A man sporting a Nazi tattoo leaves Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Virginia on Aug. 12, 2017.
Steve Helber/AP Photo
Given recent events, you might have had an inkling that extremist views have been resonating. Researchers from the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention have the hard data to back it up.
There are fears a new bill that seeks to criminalise hate speech in South Africa might infringe freedom of expression.
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The growing incidence of racism on social media in South Africa suggests that there are consequences. Whether there ought to be criminal sanctions remains an ongoing debate.
Assistant Professor, Educational Technology, Chair in Educational Leadership in the Innovative Pedagogical Practices in Digital Contexts - National Bank, Université Laval
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University