|
Violence & HateThe Internet is a unique and inexpensive medium with the power to reach a mass audience. For those reasons it is increasingly being used to promote hate.
WHAT IS MEANT BY “VIOLENT CONTENT?”
|
WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF VIOLENT CONTENT THAT SITES CONTAIN?:
HOW DO HATE GROUPS USE THE INTERNET TO RECRUIT YOUNG PEOPLE?
WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE AVOID VIOLENT AND HATEFUL CONTENT SITES?
- Internet users can select real-life stars of television shows, and then describe how they would kill them
- There is a Web site that features crude animated movies of celebrities being degraded and killed. A 2001 MNet survey of students revealed that this site was the twelfth most popular site among 11- and 12-year-old boys
- Another site features real pictures of accident scenes, torture, dismemberment and mutilation. 75% of male secondary students say they visit these sites
- WHAT IS MEANT BY ‘ONLINE HATE’?
- There are many forms of hate on the Internet, ranging from extreme racist sites to the cruel satire found on many popular kids’ Web sites
- Some of these sites may seem harmless, but they contribute to a child’s online culture where cruelty to others is considered acceptable
- It is not difficult to understand how some impressionable kids move from sites where people are mocked for their personal appearance to sites where minorities and homosexuals are attacked
HOW DO HATE GROUPS USE THE INTERNET TO RECRUIT YOUNG PEOPLE?
- White supremacist groups and hate groups depend upon recruitment for survival and their primary target is teenagers. In their view, impressionable youth represents the only hope for the future of the “white race”
- Hate groups concentrate their recruiting efforts primarily in high schools (and, to some extent, in colleges and universities). Traditionally, hate groups distributed pamphlets on school grounds and in neighbourhood mailboxes. But these tactics were not always successful because too many adults (principals, teachers and parents) were able to intervene to protect the kids
- The Internet seems tailor-made for reaching disaffected young people. Web sites help groups identify potential recruits who can be brought into the hate community through private chat rooms and e-mail, well away from the public eye
- Young people are susceptible to online racist propaganda because they don’t have the experience or facts at hand to refute the lies and myths being fed to them
- Lonely, marginalized youth, seeking a sense of identity and belonging, are both the most attractive targets for racists and their most useful tools, once recruited
- Music is a compelling way to influence young people. When kids surf the Net for music, they may chance on sites that sell hate music, or even offer it free for downloading. Such Web sites often provide links to hate-promoting brochures, pamphlets, newsgroups, chat rooms and Web sites
- Another strategy used to attract young people is white-power versions of popular computer games. Teens may go online looking for the latest cool game, and end up finding the “hate version” instead
- Some hate sites offer special sections for kids containing games and activities. For example, on the “Creativity for Kids” section of the neo-Nazi World Church of the Creator Web site, children can try their hands at crossword puzzles with racist content. The purpose of the children’s section is “to help the young members of the white race understand our fight”
- Other hate sites use cartoon-like or animated characters, similar to (or identical to) those used in children’s media to attract young audiences.
- For example, sites have used characters from Sesame Street, or Barney the purple dinosaur
- Hate sites often hide keywords in their pages that can be picked up by search engines. Some of the keywords on one white supremacist site for women are “children”, “toys”, “art”, “games” and “fun”. If someone enters one of these words using a keyword search engine, the hate site will turn up in the results
- Hate groups often cite free speech in defense of their activities. For inexperienced young people, such information on deceptive hate sites can easily be taken at face value and not fully understood
WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE AVOID VIOLENT AND HATEFUL CONTENT SITES?
- Teach children about media violence. Young people need to learn to respect others and to respond appropriately to violent media. Talk to them about real violence and its consequences, and discourage media that portray killing or pain as entertainment
- Educate your children about online hate. Young people will be better able to recognize and avoid hateful content if they are taught the strategies hate mongers use and the history of racism. Help them to identify hateful content and symbols on Web sites (for example, swastikas, derogatory references to race or sexual orientation, and cartoon depiction of various ethnic and racial groups)
- Direct your children to anti-racism youth Web sites such as www.tolerance.org
- If your child stumbles across hateful content on the Internet, report it to the appropriate Internet Service Provider (ISP). You can contact your own ISP and ask for help in locating the host of the offensive content. You should also report online hate to your local police department