‘Ukrainization’ becomes a dangerous word as refugee crisis continues

There is relatively little tension between Poland and Ukrainians, and openly anti-immigrant or anti-Ukrainian speech is extremely rare in mainstream political debate. However, one seemingly benign, but actually dangerous word has proliferated in Polish public discourse.

We study dangerous speech and ways to counteract it.

Dangerous Speech: A Practical Guide

People don’t commit violence against other groups - or even condone it - spontaneously. First they must be taught to see other people as pests, vermin, aliens, or threats. Malicious leaders often use the same types of rhetoric to do this, in myriad cultures, languages, countries, and historical periods. We call this Dangerous Speech. Violence might be prevented by making it less abundant or less convincing. We work to find the best ways to do this – while protecting freedom of expression.

Resources

Why They Do It: Counterspeech Theories of Change

People who do counterspeech almost universally want to reach audiences, not the people spreading harmful speech. Drawing on over 50 interviews with counterspeakers, this paper reports on four primary theories of change as counterspeakers describe them, and discusses the implications of this for researchers.

Experts conclude that Russia is in breach of the 1948 Genocide Convention

The report definitively concludes that Russia bears State responsibility for breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Blog + News

Meta Reinstates Trump’s Facebook Account, Implements New ‘Civil Unrest’ Protocol for Public Figures

We're disappointed that Meta is restoring Trump's accounts, but its new approach to content by public figures in times of civil unrest is an improvement.

The Alarming Rise of Dangerous Speech

In light of new revelations about the proliferation of violent rhetoric on social media platforms leading up to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, The Markup's Julia Angwin interviewed DSP Executive Director Susan Benesch about dangerous speech online.