TACKLE
HATE
L
ast year more than 1 million migrants and refugees arrived in Europe, many
fleeing wars in Africa and the Middle East.
This increasing migration flow sparked a crisis as
Members States (MSs) had difficulty to cope with the
influx, and causing division in the European Union
(EU) over how to deal best with migrant smuggling,
resettling people and integration (Europol, 2017).
As the migration flows continue to rise in Europe,
so do anti-migrant and anti-refugee rhetoric and
instances of harsh treatment of these communities.
There has been a clear and global increase in hate
incidents and crimes, where both public/private
entities and individuals use hate speech against
migrants and refugees both online and offline. Both
traditional and new media can play an important
role in conditioning public perception of migrant
populations and their social integration by providing
objective reporting. However, both intentional and
unintentional discriminatory portrayals of migrants
and refugees are often found in the media, thus
negatively influencing people’s views of these
communities (EU-UNAOC, 2016).
In this context, Internet
and social media are
omnipresent communication
tools, through which citizens
share information and
interact by expressing their
perceptions, needs and
opinions on a myriad of
topics. The project “Tackle
Hate” aims to equip youth
workers with the skills and
knowledge necessary to
develop practical tools
and counter-arguments
to online hate speech and
in preventing and fighting
xenophobia against
migrants and refugees.