Roundtable Discussion on Disinformation & Hate Speech

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished participants,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning,

Allow me to say what a privilege it is to have the opportunity today to meet with you in person and speak about an insidious phenomenon that is spreading worldwide, including in Lebanon.

Hate speech has been a flagrant indicator of the level of political, social, religious and gender-based antagonism and hatred existing in our societies. It is an extreme form of intolerance that easily contributes to hate crime, and a potential driver of conflict in troubled settings where the UN is present. UN Missions have no choice but to consider hate speech as a threat and to seek ways to mitigate its crippling effects!

The history of Lebanon and of the entire world reminds us that hate speech was a precursor to the worst atrocities of the twentieth century and nowadays social media provides a groundwork for hate, leading to psychological, social and physical harms, causing harassment and defamation and spurring violence. Humanitarians are not spared from these acts, sometimes intimidated, and faced with unnecessary threats. In addition, hate speech poses considerable dangers for the cohesion of democratic societies, for the protection of human rights and the rule of law… and if left unaddressed, it can surely lead to acts of violence and conflict on a wider scale.

To the prevalent phenomenon of hate speech, comes the wide spread of disinformation[1] whereby ‘inauthentic actors’ resort to various technological means “to produce wrong information and ‘artificially’ amplify disinformation”, sometimes using hate speech as a tactic to build on existing divisive messages and underlying social dynamics. Disinformation is also causing reputational damage, eroding trust and undermining the acceptance of humanitarian organizations within local communities, which cause negative consequences on their operational capacities and jeopardize the timely response to the needs of people affected by emergencies and armed conflicts.

Dis-information is no less harmful than hate speech. In fact, they feed into each other and they spread at the touch of a button, sometimes causing irreparable harm.

Unverified ideas, wrong, and harmful information, can gain immediate credibility... Racist and intolerable views or dubious posts on social media or other communication means are spreading like wildfire. And the worrying part is that these hate-filled thoughts and claims are NOT harmless! On the contrary, they fuel fear and anxiety in the hearts of people… They breed hatred... They divide people socially and politically… They challenge democratic ideals … They can even kill! Haven’t we heard about people who died while carrying out violent or terrorist acts because they strongly believed that it is the right thing to do, in the name of religion, of social beliefs, of cultural norms or mostly -in the context of Lebanon- in the name of a political leader, or as a result of a blinded political affiliation?

Of course, addressing hate speech does not mean limiting or suppressing freedom of speech. On the contrary, it means preventing hate speech and false information from amplifying in a way that would spur violence and incite discrimination and marginalization, which go against our common principles and values and violates human rights! 

The UN has always been a long-standing advocate of freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive and spread information of all kinds, as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. But there is a very thin line between spreading false and harmful information as recipients and readers may be easily mislead, creating a snowball effect within just few minutes. Haven’t we witnessed that during the COVID19 Pandemic as we were faced with a flurry of fake news, creating unprecedented fears and anxieties among people? Quickly it became clear that such fake news and the tidal wave of misinformation were spreading faster than COVID-19 itself and threatening to undermine our response to this public health crisis.

So, an innovative and forceful response was required. We launched the global UN “Verified” social media campaign spurring the public at large to “pause” before sharing questionable information as part of countering misinformation and disinformation while encouraging solidarity and empathy. I, myself, acted as the spokesperson for this campaign in the Arab region, particularly focusing on ensuring fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and countering fake news spreading around the vaccines’ efficacy.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The issue of hate speech and disinformation has always been an issue of concern for the UN, particularly with the recent disturbing increase of cases of racism, intolerance, xenophobia and the rising of anti-Muslim hatred and anti-Semitism. For that, in 2019, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched an ambitious “UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech”.

The strategy aims to coordinate efforts across the UN system worldwide to identify, prevent and confront hate speech, using all the means in our power. Two overriding objectives define this strategy: (1) to address the root causes of hate speech, including discrimination, poverty, exclusion, violence, poor or absence of basic education, and poor governance; and (2) to enable the UN to respond effectively to the devastating effects of hate speech on societies, including “those who engage in hate speech, and those who are best placed to challenge it”.

This strategy currently serves as our guiding tool to help prevent the spread of hate speech in Lebanon through concrete ways in which the UN can play its part in addressing this malicious act, while upholding freedom of opinion.

Distinguished participants,

Sadly, hate speech have gained a foothold in Lebanon, particularly manifested on social media and other online mediums. It cuts to the heart of the oppositions and divisions plaguing Lebanon and reminds us of the fundamental importance of closing these divisions and building a better, more understanding and inclusive Lebanon.

With over two years of deepening economic hardship and political crisis, Lebanese society is experiencing increased polarization across political, social, and confessional lines… Perceptions towards Syrian and Palestine refugees hosted in Lebanon have hardened… Mounting tensions have spilled over into the streets, some resulting in violence, injuries, and sometimes preventable deaths. Our reports show that crime rates have doubled, and incidences of hate speech have multiplied within communities and on social media, at times encouraged by mainstream media positions or public statements by political leaders.

Our UN response paint a clear picture of priorities in these trying times to help soothe the proliferation of hate speech across different mediums. To that effect, UN agencies in Lebanon have pledged to enhance their cooperation based on the commitments set out in the SG’s Strategy and vision on hate speech.

We have not yet realized all commitments, but we have some building blocks for progress. Two firm actions were taken by the UN Country Team in lebanon to stave off hate speech:

First, we developed and committed to implement a UN Plan of Action that revolves around five key areas, namely:

(1) Influencing the national legal and policy environment to take up the fight against hate speech.

(2) Monitoring and analyzing hate speech trends.

(3) Engaging with the media in the fight against hate speech and disinformation.

(4) Working closely with Lebanon’s political and religious leaders and advocating for the adoption of counter-hate speech measures within their respective communities.

(5) Building internal UN capacities to counter hate-speech.

 

Second, and to complement the first action point, we issued (through the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon/UNSCOL) the first Staff Monitoring Report on Hate Speech in March 2021 and issued the third latest report in November 2021. The report monitors trends in political hate speech, focusing on social media interactions between party-political blocks, and around specific events that are politically relevant, such as assassinations, violent street confrontations, or elections.[2] 

I will share with you now, some of the main observations depicted in the latest monitoring report:

First, the intensification of hate speech, as can be expected, around politically controversial events and the development of opposing narratives and interpretation of events. This is illustrated in the rhetoric surrounding the assassination of political activist and commentator, Loqman Slim, the Syrian elections, the controversy surrounding the deadly Tayounneh incident and Judge Tarek Bitar’s investigation of last year's devastating Beirut port explosion. Hate speech is also intensified on social media when incidents occur across the demarcation Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel…

Second, the consistency of political hate speech with Lebanon’s confessional cleavages with continued hostile exchanges between rival political groups …

Third, an interesting observation is that hate speech has not been only directed internally, but also at foreign embassies, including misogynistic elements where female ambassadors are involved and targeted…

Fourth, another interesting observation is that hate speech has not been always spontaneous, but rather purposefully organized and planned. Alarmingly, some political parties or affiliates are using what is called “social media armies” (some sort of automated accounts that flood Twitter) to reinforce their online attacks against each other, including by using both authentic and inauthentic accounts.

Both the Plan of Action and UNSCOL’s Staff Monitoring Report on hate Speech are helping our various missions in Lebanon to understand the political trends, informing our decisions and recommendations, and serving as an early warning tool for potential physical tensions.

In parallel, the UN (through UNDP Lebanon) developed a Tensions Monitoring System to explore in a systematic way the implications of disinformation and hate speech on the creation and exacerbation of tensions in Lebanon.

This newly developed system collects and collates qualitative and quantitative data sources that monitor the nature, geographic variation, as well as the trajectory of tensions existing between refugees and Lebanese host communities on the one hand and between Lebanese communities themselves, on the other hand. The compiled data is then analyzed and studied to inform our UN and other humanitarian programming and projects, so as to help us anticipate hate speech and better target disinformation attempts.

Over the last couple of months, data generated through this system has also shown a dramatic and worrying surge in hate speech in Lebanon, particularly on social media, coupled with an increasingly hostile rhetoric by politicians and religious leaders, both offline and online. The analysis shows that this trend is expected to increase amid the unfolding socio-economic crisis, the growing public discontent and in the lead-up to the upcoming 2022 elections and the political campaigns underway.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, in Lebanon, I fear we have reached an acute moment that requires our steady efforts and firm commitment to address this insidious phenomenon. Social media has become a ‘magnified mirror’ of societal tensions in Lebanon and reflects a worrying trend of negative people’s perceptions towards a myriad of issues.

The proliferation of disinformation and hate speech can weaken our efforts towards providing life-saving humanitarian assistance and achieving peace and stability in Lebanon and can provide a conducive environment for those who may seek the opportunity to exploit this moment to deepen social divisions, and put Lebanon in a further precarious situation.

For that reason, hate speech should be treated as a serious threat to our common agenda and goal to build peaceful and resilient societies and to preserve human rights. We must condemn it unconditionally… We must deploy every effort to prevent its escalation… We must use social media to counter the narratives of hate speech instead of thriving it… We must work closely with those who engage in it but also with those who are best placed to challenge it… We must counter disinformation with truth and evidence-based facts, dispel rumors and messages of divisions… and ultimately use ‘Education’ as an important tool to help counter such malicious acts.  

Countering hate speech and disinformation is rooted in our oldest commitment enshrined in the UN Charter, that is of respecting human rights, without any form of discrimination. So, we, the UN, along with our partners, with YOU -decision-makers and politicians- must confront it at every turn.

I look forward to hearing your views and experiences on this.

Thank you.