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OHPI launches a major new campaign to combat anti-Muslim hate and other news in the fight against online hate
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Sick of rising anti-Muslim hate?

OHPI's new spotlight campaign takes aim at anti-Muslims vilification


Dear Supporter, 

At La Trobe University on September 17 we launched OHPI's latest major campaign: Spotlight on Anti-Muslim Internet Hate (SAMIH). The campaign will empower the public to report anti-Muslim hate on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to our FightAgainstHate.com reporting tool. We aim to gather 5,000 items of hate, analyse them, and track the way social media companies respond to the public's request for their removal.

The campaign follows the same approach successfully used earlier this year in our Spotlight on Antisemitism campaign which collected thousands of items of antisemitism in a report presented to the Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism. It also draws on our 2013 report into anti-Muslim hate. This is what OHPI is all about; developing world leadings tools and methods to monitor and take action against all forms of online hate, always improving and learning from past campaigns. 

This new campaign comes at a critical time. Far-right activity has been increasing both online and on the streets. The creation of the United Patriot Front (UPF) in May by a more militant element who split off from Reclaim Australia has caused serious concern. The links between the UPF and international groups, and the singling out of Australia in material promoting a global anti-Muslim protest scheduled for October 10th is deeply worrying. The echoes of white supremacist propaganda, conspiracy theories and other forms of racism in the UPF's messages should ring alarm bells for many outside the Muslim community.

We know many of you want to take action and are looking for a safe way to do so. Through the SAMIH campaign we've created two opportunities to make a difference:

  • The first is our crowd funding campaign. Your donations and promoting of our crowd funding will empower the SAMIH campaign. To start with we are looking for $5,000, but ultimately the campaign need $40,000 to be fully implemented. The crowd funding is run through a campaign on Indiegogo.
  • The second is a reporting campaign to gather the 5,000 items of anti-Muslim hate. This will launch on Thursday September 24th. In the mean time you can join our special campaign list to receive more regular updates about the SAMIH campaign.

There are also opportunities for community organisations, NGOs, local government, and others to get involved in supporting the campaign. There are also opportunities for corporate sponsorship.

Despite the huge effort going into this campaign, OHPI has also remained active on a wide range of other online hate issues. Over the last month, we have tackled online antisemitism, holocaust denial, misogyny, homophobia and hate against disabled people. We have also attended numerous community events and run our own events. We also received our first mention in the Victorian Parliament on August 30 when Inga Puelich MLC, Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs, drew attention to our work. Three radio stations and news.com.au have also featured our work. On Facebook we have now passed 18,500 supporters and are well on our way to our goal of 20,000.

Thank you for your support for all we do here at OHPI. We quite literally couldn't do it without your support.

Regards,

Dr Andre Oboler
CEO, Online Hate Prevention Institute

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Spotlight on Anti-Muslim Internet Hate

OHPI announces a major new campaign to combat the rising online anti-Muslim hate
On September 17, OHPI officially launched a major new campaign "Spotlight on Anti-Muslim Internet Hate" or SAMIH (and an online crowd-funding appeal to support it) at the La Trobe University. The campaign aims to draw attention to the escalating anti-Muslim hate on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube by getting supporters to report such items to the platform and to OHPI's monitoring system FightAgainstHate.com. Read about our launch here

As we explain in this briefing, anti-Muslim hate is on the rise on social media. When OHPI did a report on the subject in 2013, we had found 13 anti-Muslim Facebook pages from Australia. Now we get such hate reported to us on a daily basis. The absence of any meaningful monitoring of such hate speech on social media has emboldened the far right, and they are now bringing this propaganda to the streets by way of anti-Mosque, anti-Halal and anti-Islam protests. You can track this growth through our page on anti-Muslim hate

This campaign:
  • Brings together individuals and organisations, worried about the rising anti-Muslim sentiments, giving them a common purpose: identifying and reporting anti-Muslim hate speech on social media platforms with the aim of getting it removed. It empowers them to act against the rise in hate speech.
  • Tracks the response of social media platforms to reports of anti-Muslim hate and brings transparency into their report handling processes.
  • The crowd-sourcing of hate items gives us a window into the volume and nature of anti-Muslim hate speech on social media and its visibility to the public. This will help government agencies and NGOs build effective counter speech messages to nullify the effects of extremism.
  • The added monitoring will cause those supporting the far-right to be a little more careful in what they say, reducing the escalation of hate speech into incitement to violence. 
Criticism of religions is legitimate. However, when that criticism goes beyond debating theology to the blanket vilification of a religion's adherents with the aim of demonising and dehumanising them, then it becomes incompatible with freedom of religion and multiculturalism. We can't allow any exceptions to this. We have to stand up for the right to a dignified life in Australia for all Australians regardless of their faith. 

The success of our campaign depends entirely on community engagement. Please register as a supporter and from Thursday, help us report anti-Muslim hate items you encounter on social media. Donations to our crowd-funding appeal are all greatly appreciate and will allow us to significantly increase the impact of this campaign.

 

Taking Action

OHPI has released a large number of briefings inviting members of the public to report specific items of hate we have found on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Some these items are still online and we encourage you to report them. 
Twitter Hate Against Disabled People
Our briefing drew attention to the problem of hate against disabled people on Twitter. We shared such tweets asking our supporters to report them. Read here and report the tweets.
Hate against Military Veterans
OHPI highlighted the offensive "Diggers are Dole Bludgers" Facebook page that promotes hate against military veterans. Read here and report the page. 
Holocaust denial on Facebook
OHPI drew attention to a WWII meme on the "Military Meme" Facebook that had led to a barrage of Holocaust denying commentary. Read here and report the comments.  
Violence against Women on YouTube
OHPI campaigned to get removed a YouTube video promoting violence against women. Read here and report the video. 
Holocaust denial on YouTube
OHPI highlighted a YouTube video "Holocaust Fraud Exposed" promoting Holocaust denial. Read here and report the video.
Homophobia on Facebook
Our briefing drew attention to the homophobic page "Say No to Gay "Marriage"" on Facebook. Read here and report the page.

 

OTHER STORIES

Brief summary of other stories.
Background to rising anti-Muslim hate
Our briefing examines how the rising anti-Muslim hate on social media in Australia has had real life negative consequences on the social cohesion in the country. Read here.
OHPI gets a positive mention in the Victorian Parliament
On August 30, Inga Peulich MLC, the Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs, raised the importance of our work in the Victorian Parliament. Read here
Facebook to add a new "dislike" button
We look at how the newly announced "dislike" button on Facebook can increase misused and abused by trolls, and ways to manage the problem. Read here
Digital Terrorism & Online Hate
OHPI discusses highlights a radio inteview with Rabbi Abe Cooper of the Simon Weisenthal in which he discusses the use of digital technologies to promote terrorism. Read here
Virginia Shootings & Social Media
OHPI discusses how social media was used by the Viginia shootings killer to promote his first-person shooting killings. We highlighted the responsibilities of social media platforms in such cases. Read here.
Cyberbullying: Not just for a teen phenomenon
OHPI discusses some Australian cases that highlight how severe cyberbullying of adults, particularly women, is a problem that must be recognised. Read here.  
Bendigo Rallies
On August 29, OHPI participated in the anti-racism rally in Bendigo that was called to counter an anti-Islam rally taking place in the city. Read our experience here
OHPI attends the ADC Gandel Oration
On August 29, OHPI attended the annual ADC Gandel Oration. The speaker for the event was Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Simon Weisethal Centre. Read here
OHPI hosted a guided tour of Anne Frank exhibition
On September 3, OHPI organised a guided tour through the travelling exhibition "Let me be myself: The Story of Anne Frank". Read here

 

MEDIA COVERAGE

  • August 28, 2015: OHPI was interviewed for a story in news.com.au on the use of social media by the Virginia shootings killer.
  • September 1, 2015: Dr Oboler was interviewed on trollings and cyberbullying for the radio show on 3AW.
  • September 3, 2015: Dr Oboler was interviewed on K-Rock Radio on online hate. 
  • September 8, 2015: OHPI contributed a story on online violence against women for the monthly newsletter of the Jewish Taskforce. 
  • Septeber 11, 2015: To mark the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attack, OHPI introduced the SAMIH wesbite.
  • September 16, 2015: OHPI posted a press release discussing Facebook's new dislike tool.
  • September 17, 2015: OHPI was interviewed on SBS Hindi about the SAMIH campaign.
  • September 21, 2015: OHPI published a press release on the launch of SAMIH. 
Copyright © 2015 Online Hate Prevention Institute, All rights reserved.


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