The analysis comes after looking at around 10,329 instances of hate speech from 30 Facebook pages which include more than 3,000 shares and related comments.
Who is hated the most online?
According to a report launched by Bytes For All, it is the media and politicians.
The report, Hate speech: A study of Pakistan’s cyberspace, which was launched on Saturday revealed that around 38% of hate speech was directed towards politicians while 10% focused on media groups and their employees.
This analysis comes after looking at around 10,329 instances of hate speech from 30 Facebook pages which include more than 3,000 shares and related comments.
But that was just Facebook. On Twitter, the situation is different. For example, after looking at 30 Twitter accounts - 15,000 tweets, replies and mentions, the report found only 350 accounts of hate speech.
“The need for such a study was paramount given the real world impact online hate speech is having in Pakistan,” said the author of the report, Jahanzaib Haque while speaking at the event. “An example of this can be the well organised anti-Malala online campaign or how social media fuelled the sectarian divide during the Rawalpindi riots.
According to the Federal Investigation Agency’s deputy director Chaudhry Muhammad Sarfaraz, hate speech has always been there but since people are using cyberspace as an outlet, the issue has become more serious.
Also present at the panel discussion were Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Saeed Ghani, PPP MNA Dr Shahida Rehmani, Faisal Sherjan, the president of the Karachi Bar Association Salahuddin Ahmed and Bytes for all Gender Programme Manager Gul Bukhari.
Perhaps because of the presence of lawmakers on the panel, the discussion often veered towards legislation and the rise of conservatism in the country than hate speech and cybercrimes. So it was a moment of relief for the audience when lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir pointed this out during the question and answer session.
Reading aloud specific laws on hate speech and terrorism from his smartphone, Nasir argued that digital and electronic media is covered by law when it comes to hate speech and therefore the authorities can, if they need to, close down accounts which propagate violence against ethnic or religious minorities.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 9th, 2014.
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It it noteworthy that ever since a small Mediterranean country initiated the concept of hate speech when people criticized them for their outrageous behavior, that it has now been picked up by various disparate groups, and politicians in particular. My answer to politicians, and other groups, is that if they cannot take the heat as a result of their doubtful decisions, get out of the kitchen and leave it to somebody who can do a better job.
I DO NOT condemn hate speech against our politicians.