Maldita.es and Fad launch 'No more haters' to fight against hate speech on networks among adolescents and young people

The project, which has the website www.nomorehaters.es , contemplates carrying out a sociological investigation to know the attitudes and positions of young people regarding hate speech on the Internet, given that it is a population with a use of Internet and social networks very high, at the same time that they are especially vulnerable users . 

The launch of an awareness campaign on networks for young people is also planned; a guide so that teachers can work on these topics in the classroom; and the design of a bilingual app , which affects work, reflection and the prevention of manifestations of hate and intolerance among adolescents and young people between 14 and 29 years old.

The objective is to provide adolescents and young people with tools to be active subjects in the search for solutions and in the fight against hate ; promoting processes that facilitate identifying hate speech, overcoming prejudices and stereotypes, promoting intercultural dialogue, and providing critical judgment tools for online interactions .

For the general director of Fad, Beatriz Martín Padura:

“One of the big problems regarding hate speech is that many young people do not know how to identify it . They may not be aware that by sharing a meme that stigmatizes a group, for example, they are contributing to hate speech. It is important that we train them to identify and combat it because they live with these manifestations of hate every day .”

For her part, the co-founder of Maldita.es , Clara Jiménez Cruz, pointed out:

“ Disinformation drives hate messages in a very dangerous way and has found social networks the ideal channel to reach the youngest people. These types of messages are contrary to a plural, diverse education based on the respect that we must achieve as a society. With this project we hope that young people and adolescents develop a critical spirit and know how to identify this type of content.»

Hate speech on networks

Technology is part of social relations and access to the Internet is as essential as the right to freedom of expression. However, taking advantage of anonymity or certain legal loopholes as parapets, the online space has also become a scene of discrimination and harassment.

In Spain, data from the Ministry of the Interior show that in recent years there has been an upward annual evolution in the number of known incidents of hate crime, including known incidents of online hate speech . In 2017, the number of hate crimes stood at 1,419; It grew by 12.6% to 1,598 in 2018 and in 2019 it reached 1,706 cases, with an increase of 6.8%. 

This last year, the majority of incidents have an ideological origin (34.9%); followed by events linked to racism and xenophobia (30.2%), followed by sexual orientation or gender identity (16.3%). To a lesser extent, less than 4.5%, crimes of discrimination based on sex or gender occur, associated with religious beliefs, disability, due to illness, aporophobia, antigypsyism or antisemitism. Taking into account the type of crimes, the majority are due to threats (20.5%).

On the other hand, in a study developed by the Reina Sofía Center on Adolescence and Youth of Fad , based on a survey of 1,400 young people between 14 and 24 years old, 34% claim to have suffered some type of abuse on the Internet or social networks (“ personal jokes that they do not like, acts of exclusion, insults, threats…»), 9.2% acknowledge that he or she was the person who has carried out this type of abuse, and a significant 38.1% indicate that they have seen, in the last year, “pages where people publish messages that attack certain individuals or groups.” 

The risks most mentioned by the young population to which they feel exposed on the Internet have to do with “the dissemination of compromising photos or videos” (pointed out first by 33.5%) and “giving too much information about them/ themselves to people they don’t know” (32.7%). Further away are “being harassed in order to obtain sexual concessions” (12.5%), “having the data they upload online harm them in the future” (10.1%) and “ being persecuted for their opinions, attitudes or behaviors (cyberbullying)” (7.6%).