Most hate speech-related diagnoses describe the phenomenon itself, rarely focusing on the actual groups affected. Minority representatives frequently lack the competencies to act alone in notifying authorities of behaviours and/or content violating their rights. There is a shortage of educational video materials showing minority cultures, albeit data published by IAB Poland (2013) suggests that video remains the prevalent form of web communication.
The project purpose was to change attitudes towards minorities, and to improve the system of reacting to hate speech through research, legal, and educational activities.
The project allowed the setup of a web platform reached by more than ten thousand users, comprising educational, research, and legal materials.
A database of online comments concerning minorities was created. Six reports were published on 6 minorities exposed to hate speech in Poland.
Sample legal actions were promoted to allow efficient reactions to online hate speech. The “Online Hate Speech. Legal Aspects” guidebook was published. Seventeen legal notifications and 4 appeals with relevant authorities were filed. Ten minority-related stereotype teaching scripts were drafted; 6 films showing the life of minority group representatives in Poland were produced, including 36 short versions. Three electronic format publications were produced: “Towards a Network of Tolerance”, “Encountering Another”, and “Minority Image”.
Project beneficiaries included 13,000 visitors to the siectolerancji.pl website, and a further 50,000 viewers of educational movies on youtube.com.
The project partner – the KEN Association of Culture, Education and Science – drafted a paper summarising available educational tools preventing hate speech and anti-discrimination teaching scripts.