Fighting hate and abuse on the Internet

Cyberbullying is becoming an increasingly important problem, especially among young people. According to surveys, almost one in five young Germans have already experienced insults and abuse on the Internet. And so-called hate speech also in­creasingly demands a response. In contrast to cyberbullying, it is usually directed at 
a whole group of people. In the wake of the refugee debate, strong verbal attacks 
were made on the Internet against asylum seekers and their supporters. That is why 
in 2015 Justice Minister Heiko Maas founded a taskforce jointly with Facebook. It is meant to ensure that racist messages are taken off the Internet faster.

The Internet itself also offers many support sites for those affected. For 
example, the No Hate Speech website, a campaign by the Council of Europe, has been online since July 2016. The website aims to support users in dealing with 
abusive comments. In Germany the campaign is coordinated by Neue Deutsche 
Medienmacher, an association of journalists and other media workers from 
different cultural backgrounds.

www.no-hate-speech.de