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Thus, the “Press can’t hate” campaign was designed to support journalists in doing their job professionally and in being correct, especially when they cover issues concerning socially vulnerable groups and minorities. At the same time, media consumers were urged to be tolerant, to respect diversity in all its forms, and to show common sense and avoid hate speech when they share their opinions in social networks. In this regard, the IJC launched two video spots, which were shared on 16 information portals, blogs and local and national TV channels: “Information without discrimination” and “Let them not think we are stupid”. The “Press can’t hate” campaign was supported by 11 media partners, which promoted a banner with the same message.
The IJC also organized two trainings for 27 journalists and website moderators, focused on efficient comment moderation and systems for filtering discriminating speech and, accordingly, on correct coverage of sensitive topics related to minorities and socially vulnerable groups.
The IJC also assessed the level of hate speech in online media through two monitoring efforts. In May and October, 15 media outlets from Moldova (including Gagauzia and Transnistria) were subjected to monitoring in terms of journalistic content and of the comments posted by netizens. According to results, journalists mostly complied with the rules concerning language and approach to vulnerable groups, but hate speech was present in online comments. The monitoring showed that hate speech is especially aimed at ethnic Russians and Romani, the LGBT community, persons with disabilities and the poor. A comparative analysis of the 2 monitoring periods revealed improvement in the quality of comment moderation at some portals. (The two monitoring reports can be viewed here.)
In 2015, there were activities organized to raise the awareness of journalism students. There were four meetings focused on combating hate speech, which were attended by 63 students of the School of Advanced Journalism (SAJ), journalism departments of the Moldova State University (MSU) and University of European Studies of Moldova (UESM). SAJ students met with activist Oleg Brega to discuss about the consequences of discriminating messages and jokes posted in social networks. The same topic, but in the context of the European Union, was presented by Charles Haquet (of the French publication “L’Express”) and Iulia Badea Guéritée (“Courrier International” magazine and www.voxeurop.eu). The two journalists recommended to students to be correct with readers, to spread only relevant and neutral information and to show tactfulness when writing about vulnerable people. MSU and UESM students discussed the specifics of hate speech in the Internet with media experts and legal professionals. They agreed that hate speech has spread and became a phenomenon with the development of the Internet and growth of users of social networks.
Within the “Press can’t hate” campaign, tolerance messages were also promoted through materials published on the Media-Azi.md portal, explaining what hate speech is and what it looks like, as well as legislative, ethical and technical aspects that might contribute to decreasing the amount of discriminating messages. Materials can be read here.
The “Combating hate speech in online media and social networks” project was implemented by the IJC with the support of Civil Rights Defenders (Sweden), IJC partner.
