"Die Sowjetdiktatur war von Staatsverbrechen kaum vorstellbaren Ausmaßes geprägt. Insbesondere gilt dies für die Periode von der Oktoberrevolution 1917 bis zum Tod Josef Stalins 1953: Sie umfasst den Bürgerkrieg, die sogenannten Säuberungen, das Gulag-System und zahlreiche weitere Akte massiver
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staatlicher Gewalt und Willkür. Auf welche Weise wurde der Verbrechen in der Sowjetunion und im postsowjetischen Russland gedacht? Der Philologe und Kulturwissenschaftler Nikolai Epplée zeichnet den Umgang mit diesen Staatsverbrechen von 1953 bis 2019 nach. Er legt dar, dass sich in Russland nie eine kritische Erinnerung an die Verbrechen etablieren konnte, welche die Verantwortlichkeiten aufarbeitet und daraus Konsequenzen für die Zukunft zieht. Zwar gründeten sich zahlreiche zivilgesellschaftliche Initiativen, die sich für neue Formen des Gedenkens einsetzten und diese erprobten. In den vergangenen Jahren unter der Herrschaft Wladimir Putins seien diese jedoch zunehmender Repression bis hin zum Verbot ausgesetzt worden. Gleichzeitig erfuhr der Diktator Stalin eine Rehabilitierung in Namen einer heroisch ausgerichteten, für politische Zwecke instrumentalisierten Nationalgeschichtsschreibung. Der Autor zeigt auf, wie in anderen Ländern - in Argentinien, Spanien, Südafrika, Polen, Deutschland und Japan - Staatsverbrechen in der eigenen Vergangenheit aufgearbeitet wurden. Er versucht daraus Schlüsse für einen Umgang mit der verbrecherischen Vergangenheit in Russland zu ziehen, der auch Konsequenzen für die Gegenwart und Zukunft der russischen Gesellschaft hätte." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Antisemitism Surges Online: Antisemitic content on platforms like X spiked by 919 percent following the October 7 Hamas attacks, spreading hate that deeply affects Jewish users, especially the young. Enhanced moderation systems combining AI and human oversight, along with stricter regulations, are
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needed to curb this surge.
Gaming as a Breeding Ground for Hate: Unmoderated gaming spaces foster antisemitic slurs, memes, and symbols, normalizing hate speech in digital culture. Gaming platforms must implement stronger moderation, promote education, and create inclusive communities.
Anonymity Fuels Toxicity: Anonymous accounts enable users to engage in hate speech without any fear of repercussions, fostering a hostile online environment. Balancing user privacy with accountability through improved tracking and penalties can address this issue.
Algorithms Amplify Hate Speech: Social media algorithms prioritize divisive content, creating echo chambers that spread antisemitism and extremist ideas. Platforms must redesign algorithms to limit harmful content, with oversight and updated laws holding them accountable." (Executive summary)
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"Seit dem Terrorangriff der Hamas auf Israel am 7. Oktober 2023 spielen soziale Netzwerke eine bedeutende und vielfach unterschätzte Rolle bei der Verbreitung von Terrorpropaganda, Falschinformationen, Israelhass, Antisemitismus und Verschwörungsnarrativen. Die Bildungsstätte Anne Frank fasst in
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diesem Report, der im Februar 2024 publiziert wurde, die Beobachtungen relevanter Plattformen aus den ersten drei Monaten nach dem Terroranschlag in einer ad-hoc-Analyse zusammen. Der Report legt den Schwerpunkt auf TikTok – das unter Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen beliebteste und reichweitenstärkste Netzwerk– und schildert die drastischen Auswirkungen des TikTok-Konsums auf die politische Meinungsbildung der jungen Zielgruppe." (https://www.bs-anne-frank.de)
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"This paper examines the counter-violent extremism and anti-terrorism measures in Australia, China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States by investigating how governments leveraged internet intermediaries as their surrogate censors. Particular attention is paid to how political rhetoric l
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ed to legislation passed or proposed in each of the countries studied, and their respective restrictive measures are compared against the recommendations specified by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression. A typology for international comparison is proposed, which provides further insights into a country’s policy focus." (Abstract)
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"This study examines the digital practices and online discourses of Hamas on Twitter, with a specific focus on the Palinfoen account linked to the Palestinian Information Centre (PIC). The study examines 3,500 tweets related to events in Palestine, which were either tweeted or retweeted by the Palin
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foen account. To explore these practices, the researcher employs digital ethnography and a discourse-historical approach to analyze the collected tweets and retweets. The findings of the analysis show that the tweets revolve around key figures such as journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and Israel. Abu Akleh is portrayed as a courageous and esteemed senior journalist who became a victim of Israeli brutality. Israel, on the other hand, is depicted as a criminal entity, held responsible for the cold-blooded killing of Abu Akleh and the desecration of her coffin. The killing is presented as an inhumane and irrational act committed by Israel against a respected journalist. Additionally, the tweets from Palinfoen focus on the events at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israeli figures are described using terms like "genocidal Jews," "Israeli occupation forces," "enemy occupier gangs," and an "illegitimate regime," while Palestinian figures are referred to as "worshippers," "families," and "Muslims." The discourses promoted by Hamas on Twitter place agency and accountability on the Israeli side. In conclusion, this analysis unsurprisingly highlights how the Palinfoen Twitter account portrays Palestinian resistance as a legitimate reaction." (Abstract)
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"Hate speech is more complex and diverse on social media. It spreads at high speed and can impact behaviors beyond the borders where it originates. Hate is ubiquitous, interactive, and multimedia. It is available 24/7, reaching a much larger audience. On social media, haters can be anonymous and fin
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d support from individuals with the same aggressive mindset. This is just a brief characterization and certainly presents many theoretical gaps that need improvement. This book explores the nature of hate speech on social media. Readers will find chapters written by 21 authors from 18 universities or research centers. It includes researchers from 11 countries, prioritizing a diversity of approaches from the Global North and Global South – Brazil, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Germany, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the USA. The analyses herein involve the realities in an even larger number of countries, given the transnational approach of some of these studies." (Preface, page 13)
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"Online and platform content that may cause harm through the breach of human rights is sufficiently widespread to have raised concerns about the potentially severe implications for the future of trust, safety, democracy and sustainable development. A certain amount of this content is curbed by the d
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ominant commercial platforms’ content moderation mechanisms. Much still escapes their nets and in worst cases is algorithmically amplified and even supported by advertising. Some smaller platforms expressly allow hatred and conspiracy theories, even facilitating the organisation of offline attacks on democracy. The roots of the problems lie in : ‘attention economics’, automated advertising systems, external manipulators, company spending priorities and stakeholder knowledge deficits. Of value in addressing these problems will be the development of guidelines for regulating platforms, centred on safeguarding human rights, promoting transparency and limiting the business processes and technical mechanisms that underpin potentially harmful content online." (Key trends uncovered, page 2)
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"Platform problems are linked to the fact that they are not self-governing according to agreed industry standards but mainly ‘solo-governing’ when it comes to content curation and moderation. Reaction to the failure of current platform efforts to regulate content includes the danger of over-regu
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lation by state entities, which carries real risks to freedom of expression. The purview of what may need to be part of new regulatory arrangements includes the interplay between policy, practice, business models and technology. There is a pluralism of platforms and other actors in the “tech stack”, who have different roles in the online content landscape, with concomitant implications for regulatory arrangements. Independent media, whistle-blowers and civil society organisations are significant factors in pushing platform accountability but mechanisms of transparency should be considered for regulatory protections and support. New technology is raising new challenges for platforms’ content moderation. Platform policy and practice is especially significant for elections." (Key trends uncovered, page 2)
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"Platform policies lack clarity about the relationship between them, and also about how policies should be applied at global and local levels. How platforms understand and identify harms is insufficiently mapped to human rights standards, and there is a gap in how policy elements should deal with di
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fferent rights or with business models when there are tensions. Policies are not always transparent and do not provide sufficiently for risk assessment. Implementation and enforcement by platforms have serious shortfalls, while attempts to improve outcomes by automating moderation have their limits. Inequalities in policy and practice abound in relation to different categories of people, countries and languages. Of value in addressing these problems could be the development of guidance for the governance and regulation of frameworks that sets out suggested standards and parameters for platform policies and related operations." (Key trends uncovered, page 2)
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"Der politische Diskurs verroht, in den sozialen Medien toben Trolle und grenzüberschreitende Witze haben Hochkonjunktur. Rechtspopulist*innen und fragwürdige Influencer*innen nutzen bewusst sprachliche Unschärfen und ironische Zwischentöne, um das Gesagte im Nachhinein relativieren zu können.
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Fabian Schäfer untersucht die besondere Aufmerksamkeitsökonomie und die Konnektivität des Likens und Teilens der sozialen Medien, die die Ausbreitung von politischem und kulturellem Zynismus anfachen. Mit dem Konzept des konnektiven Zynismus zeigt er auf, wie aus randständigem Humor Profit geschlagen und mit antidemokratischen Diskursstrategien Politik gemacht wird." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Over the last two decades, online platforms have been used to repackage racist, sexist and xenophobic ideologies into new sociotechnical forms. Digital hate is ancient but novel, deploying the Internet to boost its allure and broaden its appeal. To understand the logic of hate, Luke Munn investigat
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es four objects: 8chan, the cesspool of the Internet, QAnon, the popular meta-conspiracy, Parler, a social media site, and Gab, the "platform for the people." Drawing together powerful human stories with insights from media studies, psychology, political science, and race and cultural studies, he portrays how digital hate infiltrates hearts and minds." (Publisher description)
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"This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee, examines risks that contemporary social media - focusing in particular on the most widely-used platforms - present for democracy, the rul
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e of law and fundamental rights. The study focuses on the governance of online content, provides an assessment of existing EU law and industry practices which address these risks, and evaluates potential opportunities and risks to fundamental rights and other democratic values." (Abstract)
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"The entanglement of Jihad, Political Violence, and Media has determined the lives of Muslims in Europe and the US over the past 20 years. This book unravels the nexus of these elements, to critically examine how their conjunction is perpetuated, reproduced, or disputed. In 16 case studies, the cont
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ributors critically reflect on the identification of jihad with political violence, address the academic, legal, political and broader public production of knowledge on this topic, examine the aesthetic formations involved in the mediation and reaffirmation of this narrow understanding, explore the experiential worlds of people whose ideas and actions are labelled as and affected by notions of violent jihad, and illuminate the institutional and media contexts (e.g. of archives) in which an entanglement of jihad and political violence takes effect, with profound consequences." (Publisher description)
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"The three countries [Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, and Kenya] provide evidence of online hate speech and disinformation affecting human rights offline. The evidence is not comprehensive yet clear enough to raise serious concerns. Online gender-based violence is also reported as critical in the
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three countries. In the three countries, national legislation to address harmful content shows some degree of inconsistency in comparison to international standards, notably in relation to the protection of freedom of expression. The reasons for such inconsistency vary among countries. The effective enforcement of legal frameworks is uneven in all three countries. Social and cultural inequalities are often reproduced in government or judicial decisions, and vagueness in legislation opens space for discretionary decisions. Platform companies have offices in Indonesia and Kenya, but not in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the three countries, there is a lack of transparency in how companies allocate the roles of moderation tasks, including the number of different language moderators and their trusted partners and sources. Companies do not process content moderation in some of the main local languages and community standards are not entirely or promptly available in local languages." (Executive summary)
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"The proliferation of hate speech and disinformation on online platforms has serious implications for human rights, trust and safety as per international human rights law and standards. The mutually-reinforcing determinants of the problems are: ‘attention economics’; automated advertising system
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s; external manipulators; company spending priorities; stakeholder knowledge deficits; and flaws in platforms’ policies and in their implementation. How platforms understand and identify harms is insufficiently mapped to human rights standards, and there is a gap in how generic policy elements should deal with local cases, different rights and business models when there are tensions. Enforcement by platforms of their own terms of service to date has grave shortfalls, while attempts to improve outcomes by automating moderation have their limitations. Inequalities in policy and practice abound in relation to different categories of people, countries and languages, while technology advances are raising even more challenges. Problems of ‘solo-regulation’ by individual platforms in content curation and moderation are paralleled by harms associated with unilateral state regulation. Many countries have laws governing content online, but their vagueness fuels arbitrary measures by both authorities and platforms. Hybrid regulatory arrangements can help by elaborating transparency requirements, and setting standards for mandatory human rights impact assessments." (Key messages)
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"This guide for policy-makers developed by the United Nations’ Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect (OSAPG) and UNESCO provides specific strategies and approaches to address hate speech within and through education. Countering harmful, discriminatory and violent narrativ
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es in the form of xenophobia, racism, antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred and other types of intolerance, whether online or offline, requires interventions at every level of education, in both formal and non-formal settings. This guide offers concrete recommendations, good practices and lessons learned on how to combat hate speech and provide safe and respectful learning environments, as well as the broader goal of fostering inclusive societies." (Back cover)
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