The CREID Podcast

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 young people from both majority and minority groups. This podcast was originally recorded in March 2021 and launched at "#Incite! Identifying and challenging online hate speech". For more information about CREID, visit our website www.creid.ac or follow us on Twitter @CREID_Dev.

In this second episode of our CREID Podcast series focusing on online speech, Emily Buchanan speaks to Haroon Baloch from Bytes for All in Pakistan and Dr Pshtiwan Faraj from Independent Media Organization in Kurdistan in Iraq to discuss how they have trained consumer research software to track and monitor hate speech on social media.Initially, they consulted with a range of stakeholders to identify what key words (often offensive, demeaning and reinforcing existing prejudices) are being used to perpetuate hate speech against religious minorities before programming consumer research software, Brandwatch, to track the use of those key words and where these are being used with malicious and inciteful intent. Their research identifies who initiates hate speech campaigns on social media, and also how hate speech can spike around key events, such as elections. They warn that the right balance needs to be struck between curbing hate speech and allowing freedom of speech, and that some blunt instruments such as Internet shutdowns are not the answer for tackling the problem.This podcast was originally recorded in March 2021 and launched at "#Incite! Identifying and challenging online hate speech". For more information about CREID, visit our website www.creid.ac or follow us on Twitter @CREID_Dev.

In the first of a new podcast series focusing on identifying and challenging online hate speech which targets religious minorities, Emily Buchanan speaks to Claire Thomas, Deputy Director at Minority Rights Group, and Naumana Suleman, Pakistan Lead and South Asia Coordinator, Minority Rights Group.In this podcast, Emily, Claire and Naumana discuss who the perpetrators of hate speech are, the nature of hate speech and how it impacts ordinary people's lives. This includes daily and commonly used insults, the desecration of cemeteries, signs in shops targeting specific minorities and, in some cases outright violence and death. They also discuss what can be done to counter hate speech and disinformation. Their discussion draws on CREID evidence from Pakistan.This podcast was originally recorded in March 2021 and launched at "#Incite! Identifying and challenging online hate speech". For more information about CREID, visit our website www.creid.ac or follow us on Twitter @CREID_Dev.