European observatory for illegal hate speech online and fake news

The project aims to address two key needs: the need for more extensive monitoring initiatives to be put into action to assess the fulfilment of Internet Companies in their commitments, particularly through providing empirical evidence, and the need to advocate for greater transparency of the processes implemented by Internet Companies to monitor counter hate speech online.

Concerning fake news, the project aims to address the need for civil society organizations to work with external experts in developing effective and transferable tools and methods to tackle the proliferation of misinformation online.

The expected results of this project include:

• Empowered activists who are trained to identify, report and monitor hate speech online
• Activists who are able to act as multipliers of information, passing their expertise on to other civil society leaders through trainings and raising awareness on the issue of hate speech and fake news online in their national context
• A sustainable observatory of hate speech  and fake news online, which can continue to work beyond the scope of the project
• Empirical evidence that can be used to formulate recommendations on future actions for the European Commission and wider civil society
• Greater awareness and better understanding on the issue of hate speech online by national decision makers

The results of the project contribute to achieving the main project objectives by developing tools and practices to monitor and combat online hate speech. Finally, they contribute to increased attention on the issue of fake news and increased civil society action to address the issue on a transnational level.

Project is coordinated by EGAM - European Grassrot Antiracist Movement

Implementation period 1/01/2018-31/12/2019

The project is co-funded by European Union trough Rights, Equality and Citizenship program

Published: 2018-02-13