The Role of the United Nations on Hate Speech.

The devastating effect of hatred is sadly nothing new. However, its scale and impact are now amplified by new communications technologies. Hate speech – including online – has become one of the most common ways of spreading divisive rhetoric on a global scale, threatening peace around the world.

 As the world’s only truly universal global organization, the United Nations is the foremost forum to address issues that transcend national boundaries and cannot be resolved by any one country acting alone. World history has shown us many times how hate rhetoric threatens democratic values, tolerance and social stability, and can lead to human tragedies, including genocide. 

Hate speech and its consequences goes against fundamental United Nations values. It also undermines the United Nations Charter's core principles and objectives, such as respect for human dignity, equality and peace. As advancing human rights and fighting hate are at the heart of the United Nations’s mission, the Organization has a duty to confront the global scourge of hate speech.

HATE SPEECH, MIS- AND DISINFORMATION 

While there are no universally accepted definitions of hate speech mis- and disinformation, United Nations entities have developed working definitions. Hate speech, according to the working definition in the United Nations Strategy andPlan of Action on Hate Speech, is “any kind of communication in speech, writing or behaviour, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, colour, descent, gender or other identity factor”. 

The difference between mis- and disinformation lies with intent.

Disinformation is information that is not only inaccurate, but is also intended to deceive and is spread in order to inflict harm. 

Misinformation refers to the unintentional spread of inaccurate information shared in good faith by those unaware that they are passing on falsehoods. 

Misinformation can be rooted in disinformation as deliberate lies and misleading narratives are weaponized over time, fed into the public discourse and passed on unwittingly. 

In practice, the distinction between mis- and disinformation can be difficult to determine. 

Mis- and disinformation and hate speech are related but distinct phenomena, with certain areas of overlap and difference in how they can be identified, mitigated and addressed.

 All three pollute the information ecosystem and threaten human progress.