Media tools to counter hate speech in Italy

Monday 20 – Tuesday 21 November 2017

FNSI – Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 349 Rome, Italy

COSPE organised a workshop in Rome for 25 journalists from European Union countries who want to improve their knowledge and capacity to counter hate speech and promote the rights of minority groups who are discriminated against and targets of hate speech.

The workshop was organised within the Media against Hate project, which aims to explore different media tools that can be used in countering hate speech.

The EJN’s Tom Law spoke on the panel about the international trends in hate speech based on the Ethics in the News report. The plenary was attended by  50 journalists with 4-5 discussants and saw the launch of the EJN  hate speech test for journalists in Italian.

In the afternoon Tom delivered a workshop on How can journalism combat and prevent hate speech? to 25 journalists from EU countries.

Feedback from Participants

I found Tom’s workshop on combatting hate speech both informative and practical. Rather than reciting a list of hard and fast rules, he recognised the wildly different environments in which journalists work (the participants came from all over Europe) and gave us the tools to navigate our own ethical grey areas accordingly. His focus on the importance of context when it comes to selecting pictures and headlines was particularly helpful.

Ellie Mears – International Politics and Society

Netopia was privilaged to be at presentation and workshop moderated by Tom Law on “Media and Hate” in Rome, Italy. With 25 journalists we learned the nuances of hate speech, a historical look at online hate, and joined a series of group tasks. The day was marked by Tom’s patience in dealing with the different backgrounds/experiences in the group and depth of knowledge to hate speech/ethical journalism. 

Netopia.eu – Brussels, Belgium

Organisers

COSPE is one of the partners gathered by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) for the project Media Against Hate. Other partners involved in the project are: ARTICLE 19, Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE), Community Media Institute (COMMIT), Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) and Media Diversity Institute (MDI).

Aims and Objectives of the training

To:

• improve the professional skills of journalists in countering hate speech and creating a positive community;
• develop a network of journalists across Europe keen to improve media tools against hate speech

Expected Results

By the end of the workshop the participants are expected to:

• feel confident in responding to the ethical challenges associated with hate speech/freedom of expression;
• have at least a rudimentary understanding of data journalism and its value;
• have an understanding of the journalism tools available through Google;
• be aware of the problems and pitfalls associated with hate speech;
• feel confident in managing a community;
• have developed useful contacts and networks to enhance their careers and output

COPSE