December 14,2020
The 2020 U.S. election was like nothing we’d seen before for many reasons, including disinformation, dangerous speech, and unprecedented fears of election-related violence. Now it’s time to start thinking about the future. In this paper, Cathy Buerger and Tonei Glavinic share new research about how countries around the world have taken on the challenge of harmful speech in campaigns, and offer ideas about how these approaches could be adapted for use in the United States.
Read More
September 17,2020
Private social media companies regulate much more speech than any government does, and their platforms are being used to bring about serious harm. Yet companies govern largely on their own, and in secret.
To correct this, advocates have proposed that companies follow international human rights law. But for this to work, the law must first be interpreted to clarify how (and whether) each of its provisions are suited to this new purpose.
Read More
July 29,2020
While online speech is rarely implicated in initial violent incidents, social media platforms increasingly feature dangerous speech afterward – which increases the risk of additional violence.
Read More
July 10,2020
This piece by Adriana Stephan of the Stanford Internet Observatory offers a clear side-by-side comparison of online platforms’ hate speech policies and enforcement mechanisms.
Read More
June 22,2020
This paper presents seven proposals for how internet companies can more effectively address harmful content on their platforms, protect freedom of expression, and provide a better experience for their users.
Read More
May 28,2019
The new Christchurch Call to Action is largely vague and symbolic, but it may be worthwhile since it prompts internet companies to expand their collaborations against harmful and especially terrorism-promoting content online.
Read More
July 27,2018
Facebook’s Tessa Lyons announced a new policy for content moderation – the company will now remove misinformation which constitutes Dangerous Speech.
Read More
April 11,2018
Even as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was being grilled by U.S. Senators this week, others sought his attention, from countries…
Read More
September 13,2016
The final report released by the Mechachal project, one of first academic studies to contextually examine how hate speech and Dangerous Speech disseminate in social media by examining thousands of comments made by Ethiopians on Facebook during the country’s general election.
Read More
October 09,2015
This report examines the content of the official Facebook page dedicated to saving Sgt. Sunil Rathnayake, who was, on the 25th of June 2015, sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court for the massacre of 8 civilians in Mirusuvil in 2000. It examines comments over the course of one month after the verdict, which coincided with the campaign period for Sri Lanka’s 2015 elections. Given that context, this report explores how potent the saving Sunil Facebook page is, firstly as an example of online hate and dangerous speech and secondly, as a catalyst for social mobilization.
Read More
