This month, we delve into a special type of dangerous speech – one that doesn’t attack anyone. Instead, this speech valorizes violence, characterizing it as something honorable and connected to the identity of the in-group.
Read MoreThe Dangerous Speech Project and the India Hate Lab have been studying the spread of hateful, inflammatory rhetoric during this year’s elections in the United States and in India. The Indian election, just completed, has taught us quite a bit about such content, and ways to undermine it. Please join the DSP’s Cathy Buerger and Susan Benesch, India Hate Lab’s Raqib Hameed Naik, and distinguished Indian journalist Parth M.N., to listen and ask questions.
Read More“As we remember the Isla Vista victims on the 10-year anniversary of their murders,” writes Alex DiBranco, “it is imperative that we give serious attention to the continued risks of misogynist ideology, speech, and violence.”
Read MoreIn pro-Trump forums, when someone “pushes the norm of what is considered acceptable speech” by posting a call to execute judges or other public officials, “and no one questions it, then the norm of what is acceptable may shift,” said Cathy Buerger, who studies inflammatory rhetoric at the nonpartisan Dangerous Speech Project in Washington. Buerger reviewed the violent posts identified by Reuters.
Read MoreThe urgent need for legal action against Prime Minister Modi’s hate speech is spurred by the impending finish of India’s election.
Read MoreJoin us on Wednesday, April 24th, at 3 p.m. at Rutgers University – Camden as Executive Director Susan Benesch discusses “Dangerous Speech and What We Can Do About It.”
Read MoreStefanie Ullmann and Marcus Tomalin of CRASSH are releasing their book, “Counterspeech: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Countering Dangerous Speech”, which features collaborative work from Joshua Garland and our Director of Research Cathy Buerger.
Read MoreSusan Benesch and Cathy Buerger for the L.A. Times: Two unrelated facts combined with a lie form a powerful and dangerous piece of misinformation that is spreading virally.
Read MoreAs the U.S. election approaches, there is a growing possibility of intergroup violence along with an increase in dangerous and hateful speech. How can we best respond as peacebuilders? In this hour-long workshop hosted by Peace Through Action USA, Director of Research Cathy Buerger will discuss one possible response to online hatred – counterspeech.
Read MoreDuring the campaign for 300 seats to be filled in its national parliament, Bangladesh has seen mass protests, violence including killings, and a notable increase in dangerous speech, which Professor Aynul Islam of Dhaka University and his team have illustrated with examples in this new dataset.
Read MoreDirector of Research Cathy Buerger and Professor Joshua Garland discuss the importance of research collaborations like their project on AI and counterspeech.
Read MoreThe Dangerous Speech Project has written a Toolkit on Using Counterspeech to Tackle Online Hate Speech in collaboration with the Future of Free Speech project, as a resource for learning effective counterspeech strategies.
Read MoreTrump‘s recent xenophobic rhetoric is more brazen and explicit. What can be done about it?
Read MoreDangerous speech flourished in 2023. Director of Research Cathy Buerger offers steps for combatting its spread in the new year.
Read MoreThe Israel-Hamas war has spawned hateful, violent and even genocidal comments. Executive Director Susan Benesch offers suggestions for Christian leaders to recognize and undermine it.
Read MoreIn response to Elon Musk’s recent endorsement of antisemitic dangerous speech, major companies are enacting their own counterspeech strategy: pulling their advertising dollars from X.
Read MoreTrump’s remarks exhibit familiar patterns or “hallmarks” of dangerous speech, including ‘threat to group integrity or purity’ which is rhetoric suggesting that the presence of other people is poisonous and must be removed. With the term “vermin” Trump also, of course, dehumanized his political opponents.
Read MoreEven as it has wiped out people with terrible speed and cruelty, the Hamas-Israel war has also dried up moderate public discourse about Jews, Palestinians, and the war itself, more quickly and widely than any other conflict in our lifetimes.
Read MoreCrises like COVID-19 and the invasion of Ukraine clearly illustrate how mis- and disinformation narratives proliferate and overlap with dangerous speech.
Read MorePeople 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.
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