The Social Impact of Hate Speech
Gayan Yaddehige
Swami Vivekananda once said, “Uttering harsh words when you have the ability to choose good words is similar to picking rotten fruit when you can pick ripe fruit.” This statement is more ideal for today than when it was first said. Hate speech aimed at an individual or group of people based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, physical or mental disability, etc. creates multiple divisions and conflicts within society. We have had multiple experiences regarding such issues in the past. Currently, with the rise of social media, the space for socializing hate speech has drastically expanded. There have been plenty of instances in the recent past where a person has released hate speech on social media and the immediate responses and online arguments that follow lead to conflict. The assault and killing of a Sinhala youth by three Muslim youths in Digana was a major incident that circulated on social media and rapidly developed into a communal clash due to hate speech on social media centering on this incident.
What is hate speech? What effect does it have on society? Many people do not have a proper understanding of the legal consequences of making such a statement. The National Peace Council of Sri Lanka and the Kandy District Inter-Religious Committee have taken steps to print and distribute a book titled ‘Hate Statements‘ free of charge with the aim of educating the public in this regard.
The summoner of the Kandyan Inter-Religious Committee, Mr. Gamini Jayaweera’s comment on this matter is shown below:
People who express hatred via hate speech mainly target race and religion. Hate speech aimed at them can divide people into races and religions almost effortlessly. It has a profound effect on the breakdown of national and religious harmony in this country. A big conversation arose related to the Halla issue. The Sinhalese community as well as the Muslim community brought about various critical views regarding this issue. Some of them are based on hatred. Following that, issues such as birth control pills and infertility surgeries were socialized rapidly. Statements insulting Buddhism were a common sight on social media at the time. The end result of all this was instilling hatred, fear, and suspicion of one another among the communities. As citizens of Sri Lanka, we all have a massive responsibility to promote and practice peace and harmony among different ethnic groups. Very few people have the need to divide society into races, religions, and castes whereas the majority wish for national and religious reconciliation. When it comes to hate speech, we can divide society into three groups. One, there are very few people who try to divide society and gain some form of advantage through it. Two, there are those who are morally against hate speech but remain silent without opting to take any action against it, and this group is the largest among the three. Finally, there is another group that firmly believes the society should not be divided along ethnic and religious lines and everyone should stand strong together. Unfortunately, this is the smallest group. This shows that the vast majority of society as a whole seeks peace and reconciliation. But because of their silence, the voices of the few who are trying to provoke conflicts based on race and religion are allowed a prominent and consistent space in society. This is the exact element we should eliminate. This is the reason a book based on hate speech, and the harm it brings to society and the laws against and about it came to be.
There are many means of expressing hate speech. Social media enables this through images, words, and concepts. Public meetings, small group discussions, television and radio, newspapers, posters, leaflets, and rumors are other forms of media hate speech is spread across. About 2.6 billion people use social media worldwide. When images, words, or concepts are added to this mix, they can be communicated and spread to a large group of people in the blink of an eye. About 6 million people use social media in Sri Lanka. As the stories and news related to incidents that occurred in Digana between Sinhalese and Tamil were spread so far across social media and meddled with along the way, it paved the way for further violence and crimes in other remote districts as well. Eventually, the government had to impose a ban on social media to control this.
Nirosha Anthony, Project Coordinator of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka has this to say about hate speech,
The wounds and destruction of people are visible to the naked eye in armed struggles. But we are unable to see the wounds of the heart and mind caused by hate speech. They are very difficult to heal. We faced a 30-year war. With the end of the war, our collective wish was for national unity and coexistence. However, we are clearly not seeing that dream come true as today hate speech is common even more so than before. How many divisions and conflicts have been created between these races? Almost all school children have access to social media now. They see and experience this hate speech first hand. They respond to them and interact with them. There are instances where not only words but even symbols are used to sow hatred in society. The residents of the Kandy district suffered greatly due to clashes based on hate speech. Therefore, we thought of starting this program from Kandy. We are planning to distribute this manifesto free of charge in 23 districts of the country. Our common goal is to eliminate racial and religious conflicts caused by hate speech and establish national and religious reconciliation in the country.
Countries that have ratified to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) are committed to enforcing and executing laws in their states to ban hate speech. The Government of Sri Lanka has also signed and agreed to both agreements. The government has suggested that social media in Sri Lanka must be regulated and a formal mechanism should be set up to take legal action against false news. The present Minister of Mass Media and Information has appointed a special committee to discuss the course of action to be taken in this regard and they have already convened various parties to consult them. If the government is doing this in good faith, then there should not be an issue regarding this. However, censorship of the Covid pandemic and past activities raise doubts as to whether this is being done in good faith. In view of the above-mentioned international conventions, it would be wise to take action on news items that are detrimental to society and impede reconciliation between nations.
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