Policy recommendations to tackle hate speech

The phenomenon of hate speech and offensive speech has become common in personal interactions, political discourse, and online and offline environments. However, we do not have to accept this status quo. Instead, we must actively confront and combat it. After years of dedicated professional effort, we have developed proposals for the European Union and the Member States, law enforcement, local governments, civil society, the education system, and the media. By implementing our recommendations, prejudice can be significantly reduced, helping to create a more inclusive society.

Hate speech, in the broadest meaning, which includes not only hate speech regulated by law but also insulting, offensive and degrading speech, causes serious harm at the individual, community and societal levels. Hate speech deliberately uses words and images to degrade and exclude others. It reinforces feelings of fear and rejection. Members of vulnerable communities that are victims of hate speech and targets of hostility tend to hide and deny their identity. If strong and widespread, hate speech against minority groups can easily become the norm in society, leading to, among other things, distancing from the respective minority groups and increased prejudice and hatred from the majority society.

Therefore, collective action to combat it is a priority not only for decision-makers and the victimised communities and their members but also for all of us. Taking action against hate speech means standing up for democracy and defending democratic values and rights. We developed our proposals for domestic and international stakeholders aligning with these thoughts. All recommendations are based on the findings of the national and international conferences, workshops and the 10-session working group process organised under the CHAD project. We are grateful to the participants of these events who contributed their expertise, experience and views to the formulation of the recommendations.

The recommendations for the Hungarian stakeholders are available in Hungarian (pdf).

The international recommendations are available in English (pdf).

If you have any questions, comments or would like to discuss the recommendations, please feel free to contact us at info at politicalcapital.hu. 

The project entitled "CHAD - Countering Hate Speech and Hurtful Speech against Diversity: Roma, LGBTIQ, Jewish and Migrant Communities" is co-financed by the European Union (project number 101049309). One of the objectives of the project is to formulate recommendations and suggestions for action against hate speech and offensive speech. The consortium leader of the project is the Phiren Amenca International Network, other participants are the Haver Foundation, Budapest Pride and Political Capital.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.