APS’s monitoring report hate speech and other content related to the violent extremism in the online space in Albania was published. The monitoring done for the report integrates the human analysis of the “Trusted Flaggers Network” together with the potential of search engines to identify and analyze keywords related to violent extremism and hate speech.

Some of the monitoring findings:

•  Monitoring of the main social networks shows an increase of up to 800% in messages using hate speech directly against the Jewish people as revenge for the massacres of civilian victims in Gaza. The vocal display of these anti-Semitic sentiments contradicts the Albanian tradition of religious coexistence and tolerance and requires a multifaceted social treatment, beyond proper monitoring by law enforcement agencies.

• In addition to religious extremism, another disturbing phenomenon on the rise is the misuse of online space to attack and denigrate minors and women. Monitoring confirms that TikTok is the social network where children and young people are most exposed to unwanted phenomena such as violence, hate speech, pornography, and extremism.

• Another growing concern in the online space is sexist behavior. This behavior reflects wider social issues and is characterized by various forms of discrimination and objectification, especially towards women. Such an approach contributes to a culture that may discourage women from seeing their gender as suitable for involvement in politics and other spheres of public life.

 

Read the full report here.