Hate Speech in America

Alex Vella
av130415@ohio.edu

Free speech versus hate speech has been a controversial topic for quite some time now. This past year there have been unfortunate cases of hate speech occurring across the country. With social media being as popular as it is today, it is a target for hate speech. While hate speech is not a new topic, since it has been around for decades, social media has made it more prevalent today and has allowed more and more people to read these sexist, hurtful and homophobic comments.

Photo by: https://images.app.goo.gl/QUCeRG97rMwBkk6w6

In wake of the synagogue shooting that occurred in Pittsburgh, a search for the word "Jews" on Instagram displayed thousands of posts along with the hashtag "#jewsdid911." As I stated earlier, hate speech is an issue that has been around for years, but as you can see from thousands of posts created on Instagram after this incident it is more common to see today. For anyone, sitting behind a computer, phone, or tablet makes it simple to post whatever is on your mind onto social media. This reason of comfort is exactly why I believe we are seeing more and more hate speech on social media. This leads into the argument of being able to post as you wish because of free speech. According to an article by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "The U.S Constitution guarantees that in America you are free to hate - and say so - as long as you don't threaten anyone." A question that lingers among this topic is, will new speech laws be created to distinguish the difference between free speech and hate speech?

On the other side of violent, hateful crimes are journalists that report on these incidents. Journalists faced many challenges when covering the racial violence that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia. As journalists, precision is key. Using Charlottesville as an example, journalists should refrain from calling the marchers White nationalists. Instead, the journalist should report what the marchers were saying instead of specifying them to a particular racist group. If the journalist has factual evidence that these marchers were a part of this racist group, then it would only be accurate to say so. Not only do journalists need to think about the words they are using, but also images and videos that they are posting. It is important that journalists select images that truthfully portray the incidents that occurred. Also, when implementing videos into stories, captions or narration should be used the clarify anything that may be considered confusing. Poynter lists more advice for the journalists reporting on the Charlottesville event or any similar event.

At the end of the day with social media being used by millions of people daily, hate speech will not go away. However, things can be done to try and stop the spreading of hate speech. For example, any discussion post, chat room or blog should be taken down if it is clearly publishing hate speech and threatening those of any sexual orientation, race, etc. In addition, it is journalist's duty to report on hate speech that is occurring and remain unbiased. It is the journalist's ultimate duty to report information that is accurate, truthful and fully transparent.