In the third episode of our series on identifying and countering online hate speech targeting religious minorities, Emily Buchanan speaks to Aila Gill from the National Commission for Justice and Peace in Pakistan and Dr Pshtiwan Faraj, from the Independent Media Organization in Kurdistan in Iraq.
They discuss the importance of understanding key words used to denigrate and marginalise minorities which set the scene for the possibility of physical violence and abuse. Defining and understanding such key words helps to build awareness (amongst social media users and the media, for example) around the damage these terms cause. Both NCJP and IMOK have compiled lexicons which collect and explain hateful terms and their plans for raising awareness around these terms include training journalists, and working with yCountering online hate speech: creating a counter narrative through good journalism and by working with young peopleoung people from both majority and minority groups.
This podcast was originally recorded in March 2021.
The cost of hate speech: Policy brief for Punjab (policy briefing)
Deeply ingrained prejudice fuels hate speech in Iraq (news-story)