“Stop cyberhate speech, e-friendship is possible” project as an awareness study on combating cyber hate speech in Istanbul and Izmir

Abstract

Cyber hate speech has been increasing rapidly in Turkey, as in the rest of the world, the devastating effects of the cyber hate speech on youth is irrefutable. It has been seen that the rate of cyber hate speech among youth is relatively higher in Istanbul and Izmir. Stop Cyber Hate Speech, E friendship is possible project aims to inform and raise awareness among youth aged 18-30 from vairous backgrounds about cyber hate speech. The project was implemented in Izmir and Istanbul,with twenty youth from the host community and twenty youth from different backgrounds. Throughout the project, online and in-person trainings focused on cyber hate speech were implemented in these chosen cities. Education workshops from guest speakers along with the interactive activities were part of the training program. A dissemination stage of the project included daily informative instagram posts, online live sessions with experts on cyber hate speech and online workshops to increase the sustainability of the project. The main highlight of the participants feedback is that they feel more secure and aware of the threats related to identification and protection from cyber hate speech. In this article, the details of the project Stop Cyber Hate Speech, E-friendship is possible will be examined in the context of raising awareness and combating cyber hate speech among youth.