People have been trying to understand the catalysts of human behavior, especially violent behavior, for thousands of years. In this review, we focus on how speech, especially public, often online speech, can inspire civilians of one group to attack civilians of another or create an atmosphere in which such violence is encouraged.
Read MoreTwitter and Facebook have set a precedent in removing Trump from their platforms—but can they apply the same principle globally? Salil Tripathi explores this question, using the dangerous speech framework.
Read MoreIntentionally associating COVID-19 with Asian communities encourages cruel and ignorant stigmatizing, and distracts people from reliable information about the disease.
Read MoreIndividuals who carry out attacks such as the one in El Paso are not only audience members who have heard Dangerous Speech and have been convinced to commit violence. They are also speakers themselves. Their words (through manifestos and social media posts) and their actions (the shootings) are performances designed, at least in part, to move others to commit similar atrocities in the future.
Read MoreWhen people cannot verify or refute rumors, and cannot access alternative narratives or trustworthy counterspeech, there is an increased likelihood that these rumors will become Dangerous Speech. Therefore, if governments are serious about addressing rumors that could inspire violence, they must resist the urge to shut down the internet.
Read More