There is a big difference in how much you have to put up with on the internet. This is shown by a recent analysis commissioned by Nordic Safe Cities. Finally, says 23-year-old Fazila Aminzai from Afghanistan. – Now everyone can see that this is actually the case. It’s not just something we think or invent. That’s how we feel. The Facebook pages of politicians, media, public figures and various debate pages have been followed for almost two years – and over 10 million comments have been “scanned”. The speech of the numbers is ready! A third of the hate speech is aimed at Muslims Nearly 180,000 of the comments contain linguistic attacks. And just over 40,000 of these comments are registered as hate speech. The comments are found using technology, a so-called algorithm. Among other things, the algorithm has found these: Kari Nordmann: You’re just a piece of shit, shoot yourself in the face, you miserable pig. Kari Nordmann: And what do the Somalis contribute to society, apart from chewing kath Muslims are the group that is most often mentioned. As much as almost a third of all hate speech is directed at Muslims. Ola Nordmann: Muslims should not have the right to vote in any European countries. Kari Nordmann: Damn you piss! The Muslims hate gays, but love to rape children, and then they don’t care what gender it is! The second largest group is women. They receive almost 17 percent of the hate speech. Ola Nordmann: She, the hellish old woman, that is.. did you have to get my champagne cork between your breasts? Ola Nordmann: Squirrrrr by all the women, nauseating.. The analysis is part of Nordic Safe Cities’ investment in Trygg by Norge – a collaboration between Nordic Safe Cities, the Gjensidigestiftelsen and the Norwegian member municipalities Arendal, Bærum, Fredrikstad, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Larvik, Oslo, Sarpsborg, Skien and Stavanger. Read the full report here. Disappointed and scared, Fazila Aminzai is herself a Muslim and a woman. She came from Afghanistan to Norway as an 8-year-old. Today she is 23 years old, trained as a nurse and active in Norwegian politics. Aminzai has experienced support from his parents in his commitment. But they have also been afraid of how she would be received. – They have been like that; “Are you sure it will go well? That you should say what you want to say?”. WAS INSPIRED: For Fazila Aminzai, 2014 was a turning point. It was the year Malala Yousafzai received the Nobel Peace Prize. – It was the first time I saw a Muslim girl, who shared the same language as me, and the same background, who spoke for girls’ rights. Photo: Astrid Gerdts / news And Aminzai has experienced harassment, both online and in everyday life. She has become sad, depressed and scared, she says. If she had not been active in politics, she would have withdrawn from the public discourse, she says. But at the same time, the criticism has aroused even more commitment. And she feels a responsibility to those who are even younger than her. – I will be a Muslim girl, with my hijab on, and say what I think and participate actively in society here. Difficult to be visible Aminzai does not like to divide into “we” and “they”. But sometimes she experiences resistance from all sides. This is how it was after she met the Taliban in Oslo last year, and this is how it was when she started wearing the hijab just over six months ago. It has been a long road leading up to the decision to wear the hijab. Aminzai feared the reactions. – It becomes so visible. I was very, very afraid of what reactions I would get. Aminzai has felt hard hit by comments such as: “You’re smart, why would you do something like that?” and who are you?”. – It was extremely hurtful. Several of my own, but also others whom I meet every day, do not see me as skilled or clever – because I have started wearing the hijab. Problem for democracy The report from Nordic Safe Cities states that incitement and hatred are a problem for democracy. Deputy chairman of the board of Nordic Safe Cities, Laila Bokhari, is not surprised by the findings. – My concern is that those who are Muslim or women refuse to participate in debates. CHALLENGES OVER TIME: Laila Bokhari believes it is of great value that it is mapped which groups are most vulnerable and which topics trigger attacks and hatred. – Our members work in the field of democracy building, and we have probably seen over time that there are a number of challenges. Photo: Pressefoto / Nordic Safe Cities In particular, she is concerned that the climate of debate can seem intimidating to young people who want to get involved. – In order for us to have properly democratic discussions, we need all these groupings that are being discussed. But Bokhari believes the report comes at a good time. Because in the autumn there are local elections. – In order for us to get as good elections as possible, it is important to bring to light what it is like to participate in debate. What are Nordic Safe Cities? Photo: Skjermdump / https://nordicsafecities.org/ Nordic Council of Ministers who took the initiative to establish Nordic Safe Cities in 2016 after a terrorist attack in Copenhagen. Nordic Safe Cities is a Nordic organization that works to create safer local democracies in 21 cities in the Nordics. Nordic Safe Cities is a non-profit organization (NGO) and functions as a ‘think tank’ – which transforms knowledge into action. Nordic Safe Cities is a membership organization that a city can join for an annual fee. You can then get advice in specific situations, and you get access to up-to-date research and input on how the research can be put to use in practice. Outside Norway, cities such as Copenhagen, Aalborg, Odense, Stockholm, Malmö, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Vantaa and Reykjavik have joined the alliance. In October last year, news wrote about the internet in Kristiansand. As a member of Trygg by Norge, they analyzed Facebook comments locally: Creating insecurity Associate professor at the University of Oslo, Cathrine Thorleifsson, says the recent report supports other research. She believes it shows that hateful comments directed at Muslims can also be found on a large scale on digital platforms. COMES WITH RECOMMENDATIONS: The Extremism Commission and leader Cathrine Thorleifsson will present their recommendations in December. – There is a lot of good cooperation between municipalities, the police and civil society. But we also see that there is potential for improvement and this is where our recommendations eventually come into play. Photo: Andreas Kleiberg – It is important that new preventive strategies and measures are based on up-to-date knowledge. In this sense, this is an important report. Thorleifson leads the extremism commission, which during the year will make recommendations on how extremism can be prevented. She believes it is important to highlight the human consequences of incitement, harassment and hate speech. – It is absolutely important to strengthen and build democratic resilience. What is the Extremism Commission? The extremism commission was appointed by the government on 10 June 2022. The commission will shed light on various conditions that may have contributed to the rise of radicalization and extremism in Norway in recent times, and make recommendations on how this can be better prevented in the future. Radicalization means a process where a person develops acceptance for or willingness to actively support or participate in acts of violence in order to achieve political, religious or ideological goals. Extremism means ways of acting or ideas that involve acceptance of, active support for or participation in acts of violence in order to achieve political, religious or ideological goals. The commission must produce knowledge that can help prevent radicalization and extremism, while at the same time taking care of key values such as openness, democracy, human rights, legal certainty and freedom of expression. This also includes the authorities’ responsibility for creating the conditions for an open and enlightened public conversation. Hoping for more dialogue Aminzai hopes the report from Nordic Safe Cities can contribute to more dialogue about language use and social development. By increasing attention to the fact that people experience incitement and hatred, it will be possible to work more actively with it, she believes. – It affects our freedom if there are people in society who feel discriminated against and who withdraw from the public discourse. WITH PRIDE: Fazila Aminzai has become a more visible Muslim after she started wearing the hijab. She wears it with pride. – I feel it is absolutely fantastic. I think, why did I take so long to make that decision? Photo: Astrid Gerdts / news
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Almost 10.5 million Norwegian Facebook comments have been scanned for linguistic attacks and hate speech – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
