Introducing sCAN: Cyber Activism against online hate speech
The online hate speech phenomena is worryingly wide spreading in the major digital communication channels and social media platforms, poisoning the narrative and fuelling dangerous extremist positions of the unexperienced internet users.
The main victims of this phenomenon belong to real or alleged minorities, stigmatised on the ground of their ethnicity, religion, gender identity, disability and so on and so forth.
While countering online hate speech needs preventive strategies, a paramount contribution comes also from the action of the cyber activists, who need to improve their monitoring and reporting skills of online illegal contents.
PET-SCAN aims to fill this specific gap, through coordinated monitoring actions to ensure that the online platforms comply with the Code of conduct on countering illegal hate speech online, signed in agreement with the European Commision in 2016.
Through the creation of online and offline courses, we will train the online moderators on how to use the automated software tools to scan illegal contents and hate speech online.
On 30 and 31 May 2018, the kick-off meeting of the project was held in Paris, hosted by the International League against Racism and Antisemitism (LICRA).
PET-SCAN will design training and updating activities for the relevant stakeholders and will also carry out a number of research activities aiming at the production of:
- a transnational ontological database of terms, concept and keywords that can signpost potential hate content on the internet;
- annual reports on the relevant findings on the transnational developments in the field of right-wing extremism and Islamism;
- analytical papers on hate types country-specific trends.
The contents and outputs of the PET-SCAN project will be available to the expert users and the Civil Society Organisations’ activists on a specific online platform, which will also feature a dedicated blog allowing further sharing of information and room for exchanges.
The next partnership meeting will take place on October 2018 in Amsterdam, in conjunction with the annual conference of the International Network Against Cyber Hate (INACH).
About the project
PET-SCAN Platform Experts and Tools: Specialised Cyber Activists Network is co-funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the European Commission, under the action grant “Monitor, prevent and counter hate speech online”.
Partners
The partnership holds together 10 organisations:
- Coordinator: LICRA – Ligue Internationale Contre le Racisme et l’Antisémitisme(France)
- Czech Helsinki Committee(Czech Republic)
- Human Rights House Zagreb KUCA LJUDSKIH PRAVA ZAGREB UDRUGE(Croatia)
- Respect Zone(France)
- LPR-Traegergesellschaft fuer jugendschutz.net gGmbH(Germany)
- A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe – CEJI(Belgium)
- ZARA – ZIVILCOURAGE UND ANTI-RASSISMUS ARBEIT VEREIN(Austria)
- UNIVERZA V LJUBLJANI(Slovenia)
- THE LATVIAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS(Latvia)
- CESIE (Italy)
For further information
Contact Erica Caredda: erica.caredda@cesie.org
