"DELETE YOURSELF!" - #hatespeech on the net - Gleichstellung

For the second time this year, the Equal Opportunities Office hosted the event series ''SOWOHL ALS AUCH'' in the TU Dortmund University Library. On June 14, numerous guests discussed the topic of "Hate Speech: Hate Speech on the Net" with the invited experts.

In his brief welcoming speech, library director Joachim Kreische was delighted that the format had once again succeeded in addressing an exciting and, above all, highly topical issue. Martina Stackelbeck, Central Equal Opportunities Officer, also emphasized in her introductory remarks that a discourse on hate and discrimination on the Internet is currently particularly relevant and necessary.

Academic input on the forms and effects of hate speech online

Researcher Dr. Jennifer Eickelmann opened the substantive part of the event with her presentation on the forms, effects and challenges of hate speech and gender in the digital age. She presented an overview of the forms of "hate speech", which have multiplied rapidly through the medium of the internet. Using several examples from the recent past, which she analyzed in her dissertation on the topic, Jennifer Eickelmann shed light on the net-specific articulations of hate speech. She also found that activities that challenge conventional gender concepts are attacked particularly frequently and relentlessly. Using the example of the feminist media critic and video blogger Anita Sarkeesian, Jennifer Eickelmann illustrated the brutality and diversity of the forms in which the degradation of people or groups of people manifests itself in online networks.

The media scientist and sociologist raised the question of what effects hate speech can have on the internet. She noted that it is a powerful act that can be restrictive and destructive. However, in her opinion, it is not always an act of violence that cuts off opportunities for action. Rather, the meaning of address can be changed and resistant practices are possible. For example, the blogger Sarkeesian displayed the hate comments directed at her on her own website. Through this act of appropriation, the comments are no longer vilification, but proof of the vilification. By making the hate speech visible and documenting it, there is a redirection; the "victims" are no longer powerless but are able to act again. Jennifer Eickelmann's radical call is to analyze hate speech "from the perspective of the 'victims'". It cannot be about what the broadcasters were "thinking" when they posted their hate comments. Instead, we need to study what triggers hate speech in its recipients - and how they deal with it.

Tarik Tesfu on personal experiences and dealing with hate messages

In a creative talk, activist and video blogger Tarik Tesfu presented his personal approach to the topic. On his YouTube channel "Tarik's Gender Crisis", Tesfu takes a sometimes humorous, sometimes angry, sometimes sarcastic look at the range of topics in gender studies. The content and style of his videos make Tarik Tesfu a particularly popular target for hate messages and slurs. He impressively described his experiences with this and presented some frightening examples. The attacks against Tarik Tesfu recently culminated in a large-scale hack. His social media channels were deleted and a lot of personal data was leaked onto the internet. Tesfu explained that although the hack made him very insecure, he was never afraid of physical attacks: "Somehow I knew they wouldn't come to my house. But going back online and moving freely online was very difficult for me at first."

Tarik Tesfu ultimately decided to continue his work. He managed to restore his channels on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. He humorously processed his experience with "hate speech" in a video that he dedicated to his "haters". As previously described by Jennifer Eickelmann, he also decided to appropriate the comments that were written against him. In a cheerfully sarcastic manner, he throws them back at the feet of his "haters", saying: "You really make me cry" and I "just carry on snottily".

What is meant, what is received and what should it be about?

Following the presentations, Helena Hartlieb, research assistant at the Equal Opportunities Office and organizer of ''SOWOHL ALS AUCH'', asked the guests to take part in an open discussion with the audience. The first question was what distinguishes hate speech from an insult. Tarik Tesfu had a simple explanation for this: "If someone calls me a wanker, then that's an insult and I can deal with that. But if someone says: 'You're an asshole because you're black/gay/male/female/other, then that's hate speech and that's unacceptable to me." The question of the meaning and benefits of the new "Network Enforcement Act", which was passed by the Bundestag in 2017, was also discussed. Jennifer Eickelmann, who advocates a scientifically sound examination of the phenomenon of network-based hate speech, sees the enforcement of the law primarily as a practical problem in that problematic posts are deleted immediately and are therefore no longer available for analysis. The question of addressing and the effect of comments on the internet was the subject of controversial discussion.

"Sowohl als Auch" is a series of events organized by the Equal Opportunities Office, which focuses on women's and gender studies at TU Dortmund University as well as current discourses within equality-oriented movements. The format addresses current social debates and brings them together with academic issues.

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