Impact and prevention

Targets of hate

Minority groups

National, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities are a recurring targets of hate speech, including online. According to the Special Rapporteur on Minorities Issues’ thematic report 70 per cent or more of those targeted by hate crimes or hate speech in social media are minorities. In addition to being the main targets of hate speech, the report says members of minority groups are also more likely to be affected by restrictions and/or removals by social media content moderation systems.

Recent incidents of hate speech, including racist slurs and even incitement to violence or genocide, reflect a global and worrisome trend targeting minority groups as diverse as the Igbo people in northern Nigeria, the Rohingya in Myanmar, the Roma and the Sinti in Europe, or People of African descent, among many others.

This trend has been exacerbated by extremist groups and populist figures worldwide who have used the COVID-19 pandemic to promote anti-minority narratives, disinformation and conspiracy theories. Many of these scapegoat Jews, Muslims, Christian minorities, people of Asian descent (especially those perceived as Chinese), and other communities for the spread of the virus.

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Migrants and refugees

The scale of international migration has snowballed over the past 20 years, as millions of people worldwide flee from poverty, conflict, violence and persecution. In 2020, the United Nations estimated that 281 million people were living outside their country of origin.

Migrants and refugees tend to be particularly vulnerable to racism, discrimination and status-related intolerance. However, hate rhetoric and incitement against migrants and refugees have worsened with the recent increase in the number of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants across various regions of the world, where the large number of newcomers has put a strain on governments and captivated public debate.

Increasingly, migrants and refugees are portrayed as unable to adapt to local customs and life, and routinely associated with fears of violence and terrorism, while their positive contribution to societies is ignored. Where host populations feel confronted by the arrival of newcomers from diverse backgrounds, cultures and religions, stereotyping and polarization often start dominating media coverage and shaping political debate. Meanwhile, harsh measures targeting migrant and refugee communities are often enacted. As extremist groups and politicians, but also news agencies, fuel hate speech against migrants and refugees to serve their own populist agendas, acts of intimidation and violence have spiked and disinformation has intensified.

The impact has already proven disastrous for countless migrants around the world who face discrimination and economic hardship and for refugees and asylum-seekers who live in dire conditions or have been pushed back or deported to dangerous environments.

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Women and girls

Women and girls often suffer from complex and intersectional discrimination that leaves them vulnerable to hate propaganda. The Special Rapporteur on promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression reported that gender-based hate speech and disinformation are used extensively offline but also online to silence women as “in the digital age, the spate of online violence, hate speech and disinformation often compel women to self-censor, limit what they post or leave platforms.

Online gender-based violence includes both hateful speech and hostile behaviour that is often sexist or misogynistic, such as digital threats or incitement to physical or sexual violence. The Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences has identified many forms of online hate affecting women, such as “sextortion” (using sexual content for blackmail) or “revenge porn” (non-consensual distribution of intimate content or images), doxing (publication of private information), trolling (content produced to annoy, provoke or incite violence), online stalking (repeated harassment via mobile phones or messaging applications), online bullying and harassment (unwelcome conduct that seeks to offend or humiliate) and online sexual harassment (unwelcome sexual advances, behaviour or gestures that may offend or interfere with work).

Women and girls are more likely to be targeted online when they have intersecting identities. This includes LGBTQI+ individuals, women and girls belonging to national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, women and girls with disabilities, or who are displaced, as well as other at-risk groups. Women and girls in the public eye – such as human rights defenders, politicians, journalists, video-gamers, athletes and bloggers are also particularly targeted.

The harm caused by gender-based hate speech and disinformation is real. It affects the mental and physical health of the individuals targeted, causing them professional and reputational damage. In extreme cases, it can escalate into physical violence and even murder. Online attacks against women and girls also often lead to self-censorship, thereby limiting women’s freedom of expression, their full participation in public life and affecting democracy and societies as a whole.

Furthermore, gender-based hate speech – as with all forms of gender-based violence – increases in emergencies and during conflict. It can even incite conflict-related sexual violence and atrocity crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes).

Sadly, this phenomenon has only worsened during the pandemic. According to UN Women - the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women - online abuse against women has intensified, alongside a rise in offline domestic violence.

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LGBTQI+

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people, as well as those who do not conform to gender stereotypes, are routinely exposed to discrimination, stigma, hatred and abuse based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. In many cases, the mere perception of their homosexuality or trans identity is enough to put them at risk of abuse.

The challenges LGBTQI+ people face tend to worsen as many countries criminalize non-conforming sexual orientation and gender identities – whether on grounds of morality, religion, traditional values and/or child protection. In doing so, they can foster and normalize intolerance, stigmatization and even violence. LGBTQI+ individuals with intersecting identities (for instance members of a minority group, migrants, refugees, or people with a disability) tend to face even more frequent and concerted attacks.

Rhetoric used to exclude the LGBTQI+ community exploits deep-rooted stigma and prejudice, raising fear and moral concern that their mere existence may endanger the whole community, which perpetuates discrimination and violence against them. As noted by the Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, these narratives – bearing the hallmarks of hate speech – have managed to capture the popular imagination. Alarmingly, the vilification of LGBTQI+ people is often created or amplified by influential figures such as political leaders, government officials, the media, or religious leaders.

Last but not least, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a "context conducive to increased persecution" as hate speech that explicitly or implicitly incites violence against LGBTQI+ people is rising. This includes discourse by prominent political or religious leaders blaming the pandemic on LGBTQI+ members of the community, whether offline or on social media.

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Vocational targets

According to the 2019  World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development report by UNESCO, the “prevalent use of rhetoric that is hostile to the media as well as the discrediting of newsworthy and accurate journalistic reportage” – by labelling it as ‘fake news’ – is a worrying trend. This has not only contributed to undermining collective trust in the media and news reporters, but it has in some countries also “helped foment in parts of the population a sense of resentment”. When weaponized by political leaders, such narratives may contribute to the spread of disinformation and curtail freedom of expression by threatening and muzzling journalists. Moreover, anti-media discourse appears appears to have been used by perpetrators to justify attacks on journalists, raising concerns about the public vilification of and violence against media workers.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the consequences of the rampant disinfodemic may be fatal for those unable to access reliable information and take scientifically grounded preventive measures. Journalists but also many professionals such as medical and health care workers, human rights defenders, whistle-blowers and peacebuilders are also being subjected to hate speech and attacks as a result of their work to address or report on the pandemic. Professionals who expose disinformation may also become targets of hate and disinformation-fuelled attacks in return.

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There should be no room for misogyny and violence in journalism. social media platforms and governments must protect women journalists from online violence.

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While both men and women journalists face exposed to hate speech and threats to their safety in the course of their career, women journalists are additionally targeted online as well as offline not only for the content of their work but for daring to have a voice and for existing in the public sphere as women.

The growing trend of online violence against female journalists includes brutal, misogynistic online harassment and abuse that frequently involves threats of physical and/or sexual violence. It covers digital privacy and security breaches that exacerbate offline safety risks faced by women journalists and their sources. And it is often coupled with disinformation campaigns leveraging misogyny and other forms of hate speech.

A 2021 global survey reveals that 73 per cent of female journalists have experienced a form of online violence. Most cited threats of physical (25 per cent) and sexual violence (18 per cent), while 20 per cent said they had been attacked or abused offline in connection with hate experienced online. Black and indigenous women journalists were targeted more often than white women.

Whether online or offline, hatred towards women journalists reflects of broader issues of sexism in society. However, gendered hate speech and violence, even in the virtual world can have dire consequences, leading to self-censorship as female journalists drop investigative work, avoid reporting on certain topics, or abandon their profession altogether. The failure to address and reprehend online hate can also be fatal, as shown by physical attacks on and murders of women journalists that were preceded by online hate campaigns and threats.

 
 
 
“We can draw a direct line between hate speech and antisemitic,, anti-Muslim and anti-Christian violence. And we see it mirrored in acts of misogyny against women, and violence against refugees, migrants, and minorities, including people of Asian descent who were outrageously blamed for COVID‑19.”

— United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, October 2021