Category: Caravan Studios

Combatting Hate and Dangerous Speech

On By Carolyn M. AppletonIn Caravan Studios, diplomacy, ethics, Hate speech, Internet, moral behavior, positive thinking, Primary Articles, problem solvingLeave a comment

The past several years (2016-2021), I was the lead volunteer organizer of Nonprofit Tech Club Austin, now called TechSoup Connect Texas Chapter. While I was guiding it, the club partnered with NTEN: Nonprofit Technology Network, TechSoup, and locally in Austin, startup incubator Capital Factory.

One benefit of the partnership with TechSoup specifically was learning about inspiring ideas from other tech club chapters across the United States and globally, as well as from TechSoup and its divisions like Caravan Studios and the Public Good App House. A 2019 webinar on hate speech and those monitoring it globally was particularly eye opening.

This post shares information presented during that program as well as additional discussions and resources I have since discovered. This post was written originally in 2019 and it has become one of my most-read. I continue to update it as more information becomes available.

One discovery is the Dangerous Speech Project. They sum the problem up well:

“People don’t commit violence against other groups – or even condone it – spontaneously. First they must be taught to see other people as pests, vermin, aliens, or threats. Malicious leaders often use the same types of rhetoric to do this, in myriad cultures, languages, countries, and historical periods. We call this Dangerous Speech. Violence might be prevented by making it less abundant or less convincing.

Only a few years ago, I believed the United States was more egalitarian and tolerant than ever. I did not see racism as being an issue in Texas, and mostly witnessed an ever-growing appreciation for differences in terms of culture and ethnicity. In fact, since returning to live and work in Austin in 2013, I was impressed by the new monuments on the Texas State Capitol grounds, including the stately Tejano and African American Emancipation installations. They are well worth a visit!

In 2013, I had also just finished serving two consecutive four-year terms on a State of Texas commission, the Texas Environmental Partnership Fund Board. The appointees of the commission and those serving on other commissions were very diverse. I felt real progress had been made.

iPhone photo collage of the Emancipation monument on the Texas State Capitol grounds (2023).

But in 2016, an eruption of hateful speech at the national level occurred from which I am still reeling. It was like a long dormant volcano had erupted, causing an international avalanche of angry, hateful speech and behavior. This led me to seek solutions about how to combat hate in the context of the nonprofit sector.

The following organizations were included in the TechSoup webinar I referenced earlier in this post. They are working to identify, monitor and to develop ways to combat dangerous rhetoric and actions around the world. Thanks again to TechSoup for introducing them during the program, and I hope we have another global webinar along these lines. It is so inspiring to see the social good sector fighting for a more just and peaceful world.

PeaceTech Lab

We believe everyone has the power of peacetech so we leverage low-cost, easy-to-use tech and local partnerships to put the right tools in the hands of the people best positioned to make a difference: activists, peacebuilders, and NGOs in some of the most violent places on earth.

Hatebase

Hatebase is a software platform built to help organizations and online communities detect, monitor and quarantine hate speech. Our algorithms analyze public conversations using a broad vocabulary based on nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability and class, with data across 80+ languages and 200+ countries.

Metamorphosis Foundation

The Metamorphosis Foundation offers IT solutions, developed according to the needs of the clients or as part of the project. At the same time, we offer favorable and quality services for development, adaptation, localization and updating of web content.

More Information

  • ALA: American Library Association has a helpful page on its website, “Hate Speech and Hate Crime.” It outlines important definitions and discusses legal issues.
  • Council on Foundations via Independent Sector, “Values-Aligned Philanthropy for Community Foundations” (2022). “Through our Values-Aligned Philanthropy project, the Council on Foundations is encouraging foundations to take steps to ensure that they are not funding hate. Our white paper created a landscape scan of the issue and the work being done in the philanthropic sector to combat hate funding. We also maintain an online hub with updated links to resources and sample policies.”
  • United Against Hate provides several helpful resources including a speakers bureau and school kits.
  • The United Sates Department of Justice has a webpage that includes a link, “Get Help Now.” Visit the website for periodic updates about hate, and actions taken to deal with hate crimes. Keep up the good work!