STOP BULLYING & HATE SPEECH by Sneha Narayan
“Online Hate Speech is Pervasive.”
Being a blogger couldn’t stop myself from writing this.The article was there in my draft section since 2 weeks but today decided to post the same got a msg from my v close friend so thought let’s speak up rather than choosing not to speak.Being so strong mentally still facing bullying since last 1.5 months now ended up blocking two people and exiting one social group coz Admin was not taking any action as the lady who did this bullying is her close friend.
But at the same Admin of the other group stood by.Thanks dear…
So here’s the article ..
What do we mean by Online HATE SPEECH/CRIME !
In INDIA ,IPC protects people from being targeted because of an aspect of their identity. If a POST IS HOSTILE towards a PERSON’S RACE, RELIGION, DISABILITY, SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDENTITY it could be viewed as HATE SPEECH, and, if serious enough, may break the law, whether it is on- or offline. These are called the ‘PROTECTED STRANDS’ OF IDENTITY.
Hate Crimes and Incidents – what’s the difference?
A single ‘Hate Incident’ may not immediately break the law, BUT A SERIES Of Hate Incidents May Add Up TO A CRIMINAL ACT.
Online Hate Speech is serious and is a crime if it targets one of the aspects of identity listed above.
What does the law say about Online Hate Crime?
Because of the NATURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA, online Hate Speech can reach a VERY LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, and is viewed as seriously as any other HATE CRIME.
ARRESTS can be made and the person posting it could end up with a criminal record or even IMPRISONMENT.
If a post or electronic communication can be proved to be targeting someone based on their identity (race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or gender) the offender may receive a ‘sentence uplift’. This means their punishment is increased because it was a Hate Crime.
What is the difference between Online Hate Speech and Free Speech?
These are common responses when people are challenged about some of the things they say. But this is a complex area.
FREE SPEECH means the right to seek, receive and share information and ideas with others.
But this FREEDOM MUST BE USED RESPONSIBLY, and can be restricted when considered ‘GROSSLY OFFENSIVE’ or SEEN AS THREATENING OR ENCOURAGING HATEFUL ACTIVITY.
Hate speech, particularly online, often describe those targeted as being ‘the other’, in opposition to the author’s group, and even dehumanise them.
HATE SPEECH PERPETRATORS OFTEN SEE ‘THE OTHER’ AS ENEMIES AND THE SOLE CAUSE OF PROBLEMS IN SOCIETY.
Think about all the ways that you are active online. Some suggestions are given below:
All internet platforms can be places where people post hateful content, whether as words, videos, photos or memes, and cause great harm. It is up to all of us to consider our own online content and make sure we are not crossing the line from free speech to hate speech.
Remember, if something targets a group or person because of an aspect of their identity, it is Hate Speech!
Coming to CYBER BULLYING…!!
What is CYBER BULLYING ?
Cyber bullying is any form of bullying which takes place online or through smartphones and tablets. Social networking sites, messaging apps, gaming sites and chat rooms such as WHATS APP, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and other chat rooms can be great fun and a positive experience. But what do you do when things go wrong?
Cyber bullying is rife on the internet and most young people will experience it or see it at some time. In our recent national bullying survey, 56% of young people said they have seen others be bullied online and 42% have felt unsafe online. Cyber bullying can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and it can go viral very fast.
Types of Cyber Bullying !
There are many ways of bullying someone online and for some it can take shape in more ways than one. Some of the types of cyber bullying are:
Harassment – This is the act of sending offensive, rude, and insulting messages and being abusive. Nasty or humiliating comments on posts, photos and in chat rooms. Being explicitly offensive on gaming sites.
Denigration – This is when someone may send information about another person that is fake, damaging and untrue. Sharing photos of someone for the purpose to ridicule, spreading fake rumours and gossip. This can be on any site online or on apps. We even hear about people altering photos of others and posting in online for the purpose of bullying.
Flaming – This is when someone is purposely using really extreme and offensive language and getting into online arguments and fights. They do this to cause reactions and enjoy the fact it causes someone to get distressed.
Impersonation – This is when someone will hack into someone’s email or social networking account and use the person’s online identity to send or post vicious or embarrassing material to/about others. The making up of fake profiles on social network sites, apps and online are common place and it can be really difficult to get them closed down.
Outing and Trickery – This is when someone may share personal information about another or trick someone into revealing secrets and forward it to others. They may also do this with private images and videos too.
Cyber Stalking – This is the act of repeatedly sending messages that include threats of harm, harassment, intimidating messages, or engaging in other online activities that make a person afraid for his or her safety. The actions may be illegal too depending on what they are doing.
Exclusion – This is when others intentionally leave someone out of a group such as group messages, online apps, gaming sites and other online engagement. This is also a form of social bullying and a very common.
Bullying by spreading rumours and gossip
The worst thing about social networking sites and messaging apps is that anything nasty posted about you can be seen by lots of people and these posts can go viral very fast and be shared by so many people within minutes in some cases.
From what we have heard from people who have been bullied online, the most vicious gossip and rumours are often spread by people who were once your best friends so it’s best to keep secrets and personal information to yourself.
Only tell people things if it wouldn’t embarrass you if other people found out about them. Posting false and malicious things about people on the internet can be classed as harassment.
When comments gets abusive
There are quite a few instant messaging apps including Snapchat, WhatsApp, Secret, Whisper and Instagram. They are a great way of sharing things with your friends and having fun. But if things turn nasty you can block people from seeing you are on line and you can save abusive conversations or print them out as evidence.
It’s tempting to have a go back if someone makes a rude posting on your online space, social network or app but don’t. This is called Flaming and it just makes the problem worse. Abusive comments are very upsetting but the best way to deal with them is to get them removed by the website. Read our advice on bullying on social networks to find out how to remove comments.
INAPPROPRIATE IMAGES
It’s easy to save any pictures of anyone on any site and upload them to the internet. Make sure that you have the person’s permission to take a picture and that they’re happy for thousands of people to see it on the internet. Be wary of tagging and hashtags as this will send the picture out to a wider audience then you may have originally intended.
Don’t upset people and then upload their pictures for other people to have a laugh. That could be HARASSMENT. Don’t digitally alter pictures of people either because what you think is funny may be offensive to other people. Don’t let anyone take pictures of you that might embarrass you.
INNOCENT BYSTANDER
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER
if you have seen someone being bullied online, you can report it to the online site or app.
IGNORING it may feel like the easiest thing to do but the person who is being subjected to that bullying may need your help and support to get it stopped. Most sites now have a report button which is something you can do and this will send the bullying comments to the site to investigate.
HERE’S HOW TO START COMBATING
HATE SPEECH AND CYBER BULLYING.
After a presidential campaign notable for its demonization of racial, ethnic, and religious minorities – and now under a presidency that is continuing that dangerous trend – some people are feeling more validated and emboldened than ever.
And some of their victims have felt they have no choice but to quit the platforms and silence themselves.
Even in my case did the same .first time chose not to speak and second Time when it was repeated thought to report to cyber department bhut pretty much occupied with normal household Chores as being a Home BAKER …
This rise in HATE SPEECH is even translating into violent actions offline.
We cannot let the spread of hate speech to continue. We cannot let people celebrate racism, misogyny, homophobia, Islamophobia, and white nationalism under the banner of free speech.
My Dad being a Criminal Advocate with 20yrs of experience behind him in High court made us aware of below points and suggested us to decide how we should combat this problem of HATE SPEECH ON SOCIAL PLATFORM
Found below points v useful so sharing.
Here’s how you can help combat hate speech online and stop the spread of violent actions:
1.Hold platforms accountable for hate speech.
Report What’s app messages ,tweets, Instagram posts, Facebook posts, and other speech that spreads hate to the platforms that are hosting it and DEMAND ACTION.
If given the opportunity, be specific about what you FIND OFFENSIVE AND WHY.
2.Raise awareness of the problem. TALK to your FRIENDS AND FAMILY about why hate speech is not a PROBLEM JUST FOR THE INTERNET, BUT OUR SOCIETIES AND CULTURE AT LARGE.
3.SUPPORT PEOPLE WHO ARE TARGETS OF HATE SPEECH.
Fight back against harmful messages in public forum by publicly standing WITH VICTIMS AND SHOWING SOLIDARITY.
4.BOOST POSITIVE MESSAGES OF TOLERANCE. Part of modeling what we don’t want to see is modeling what we do want to see.
MOST IMPORTANT POINT
5.NOTIFY ORGANIZATIONS FIGHTING HATE about the worst instances you see. Tracking hate, where it’s coming from, and who it’s directed at is an important part of fighting it.
6.It is important to think carefully when considering posting counter-narrative. YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE.
7.CHECK YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS – do not allow your personal information to be public. Only allow your friends to see your posts, photos, and details such as your school, where you live, etc.
8.THINK BEFORE YOU POST – will the message worsen the situation by angering the person posting the Hate Speech
9.CONSIDER BLOCKING Offensive posts so you don’t see them – but remember they can still be seen by others and cause harm, so should be reported to the platform moderators.
Moreover
If you post abuse about anyone else online or if you send threats, you can be traced by the police without any difficulty. Every time you visit a website or make a posting, your internet service provider Airtel , jio or Voda phone has an electronic note of your activity. Even if you create an anonymous email address like Gmail, INSTAGRAM Hotmail or Yahoo, you can still be traced.
Be safe …
Keep safe by using unusual passwords. Use a combination of letters, lowercase, uppercase, symbols and numbers. Don’t use any part of your name or email address and don’t use your birth date either because that’s easy for people who know you to guess. Don’t let anyone see you signing in and if they do, change the password as soon as you can.
Being bullied online can affect someone enormously. Being bullied can impact on a person’s self-esteem, confidence and social skills. We have supported people affected by this type of bullying, and in many cases they have had to leave school, work and social networks to escape bullying.
Try to consider the impact your words may have and think twice before posting.
Think twice before you post anything online because once it’s out there you can’t take it back. It is easy for any comments or posts you make online to be taken out of context and these could be damaging to you in the long term.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS ONE THING. HATE SPEECH IS ANOTHER.
Commonly defined as—“SPEECH that expresses or incites hatred toward people on the basis of some aspect of their identity”—hate speech is something that society must take seriously, not dismiss as something that might at WORST HURT THE FEELINGS OF SOME OVERLY-SENSITIVE LIBERALS.
There is evidence that hate speech predicts violence, that groups more exposed to hate speech are more likely to commit suicide, and that it causes
what scientists call a ‘Dehumanisation effect’ which makes it easier for us to justify suffering and harm caused to another human being.
India prohibits hate speech by several sections of the INDIAN PENAL CODE, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and by other laws which put limitations on the freedom of expression.
Section 95 of the Code of Criminal Procedure gives the government the right to declare certain publications “forfeited” if the “publication … appears to the State Government to contain any matter the publication of which is punishable under Section 124A or Section 153A or Section 153B or Section 292 or Section 293 or Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code”.[1]
Section 153(A) Edit
Section 153A of the Indian penal code says,[2] inter alia:
Whoever (a) BY WORDS, EITHER SPOKEN OR WRITTEN, OR BY SIGNS OR BY VISIBLE REPRESENTATIONS OR OTHERWISE, PROMOTES OR ATTEMPTS TO PROMOTE, ON GROUNDS OF RELIGION, RACE, PLACE OF BIRTH, RESIDENCE, LANGUAGE, CASTE OR COMMUNITY OR ANY OTHER GROUND WHATSOEVER, DISHARMONY OR FEELINGS OF ENMITY, HATRED OR ILL-WILL BETWEEN DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS, RACIAL, LANGUAGE OR REGIONAL GROUPS OR CASTES OR COMMUNITIES, OR (B) COMMITS ANY act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, and which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tranquillity, . . . SHALL BE PUNISHED WITH IMPRISONMENT WHICH MAY EXTEND TO THREE YEARS, OR WITH FINE, OR with both.
Section 295(A) Edit
Section 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) enacted in 1927[3] says:[4]
Whoever, with deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class of [citizens of India], [by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise], insults or attempts to insult the religion or the religious beliefs of that class, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to [three years], or with fine, or with both.[5]
Therefore, it recommended that the words with deliberate and malicious intention be inserted in the Section.[3]
A day after WhatsApp set restrictions on sending frequently forwarded messages, the State cyber department on Wednesday issued an advisory outlining the dos and don’ts for members and administrators of such groups.
Cyber police officials said a rise in the instances of fake news, rumours, and hate speech on the COVID-19 pandemic had been noticed in the last few days, with 20 FIRs being registered all over the State in 24 hours.
“Of the 20 cases registered on Tuesday, 14 are communal in nature and six are rumours. From the lockdown till date, 132 cases have been registered in Maharashtra, of which 49 pertain to hate speech,” Superintendent of Police (Maharashtra cyber) Balsing Rajput said. So far, 35 people have been arrested and 28 have been identified and will be arrested soon.
The advisory instructs members of WhatsApp groups to refrain from posting unverified content and report an instance of misinformation, fake news, or hate speech either to the State cyber crime officials or nearest police station.
It also advises administrators of the groups to ensure that every member is reliable and responsible, inform all members about the rules of posting, and warn against sharing objectionable content. “Actively and regularly monitor the content that is being shared on the group. It is advisable that if the group is uncontrollable, then the group settings can be changed to only where the administrators have the right to post. Inform the police if any members resort to mischief and share objectionable content.”
The advisory says those found in violation of the rules will be liable for action under the Indian Penal Code, Information Technology Act, and, in the current atmosphere, Disaster Management Act. Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act deals with someone who is providing or forwarding misleading information related to the severity or magnitude of the epidemic, which may lead to panic, and can be punished with imprisonment which may extend to one year.
“Under Sections 144 and 144 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, orders by a district magistrate can be passed against WhatsApp groups, which can direct the group settings to be changed so that only the administrators can send messages. Even after this setting, if any messages sent on the group were found fake, insulting any religion, spreading hatred, bigotry, or which may create communal tensions, the administrators would be held SOLELY LIABLE,” the advisory says.
Disclaimer: The narration of this act is Authors personal view. It may or may not fit exactly in the technicalities involved while situations of injured person on board a ship.Although the author has made every effort to ensure that the information in this Article is correct, the author do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence or any other cause.
HOPE You Like It Love U All !!
Through friendship by accumulating bonds of
F
Friendship can be between men and men, women and men & women and women and some exception too with add on kids gang.
I have grown up with small group of female friends. I’ve always had 1-5 girlfriends in a convent school later in high school some girlfriends and the rest were guys in family only brothers of my age or elder ones friends..later my better half my best friend my husband came into my life and then my most cherished best friend my soul my part my son came into my life. Feel so blessed to have all of them in my life.
Echoing these ideas, “Democracy flourishes only when the populace is enlightened, can dialogue and co-operate in spite of its difference, and builds a society of hope pointing toward the ultimate goal of peaceful coexistence
