October 11
Online hate speech is a type of speech that takes place online. It includes written, spoken or visual discrimination, harassment, threats or violence against a person or group on the basis of their gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation, race, etc.
According to USA Today, more than half of Americans – 53 percent – say they were subjected to hateful speech and harassment in 2018. In a study released by the Anti-Defamation League (2018), a third of Americans claim that this online abuse was in response to their sexual orientation, religion, race, ethnicity, gender identity or disability. There also seems to be a correlation between hate speech and real-world violence. Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, regularly posted anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi propaganda on social media.
Online hate speech has become a global epidemic with grave consequences. In this Forum, we will discuss the history of online hate speech, how to identify it, and what can be done to stop it.
This free, two-day, two-campus event is open to the public and will be held on Monday, October 21, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at North Shore Community College’s Danvers Campus, 1 Ferncroft Road, Room DS106B and on Thursday, October 24, 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. at the Lynn Campus gym, 300 Broad Street.
The Danvers event will feature a screening of the documentary, The Red Pill: A Feminists Journey into the Men’s Rights Movement. NSCC Professor Larry Davis will speak about the Men’s Rights Movement and Hate Speech. The Lynn event will feature speakers and a panel discussion. SSU Criminal Justice Professor, Kevin Borgeson, will discuss Detecting Hate in Social Media and in Websites while Dan Eshet, visiting lecturer at SSU and member of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies’ staff, will speak about Anti-Muslim Policies in the Francophone World. Online Transphobic Hate Speech will be the student panel topic, led by Alec May and Matt Savini-Burke.
For more information, check out http://www.northshore.edu/tolerance/ or contact Professor Carl Jean at cjean@northhshore.edu or at 978-762-4000, x6603.