Published 14 October 2022 at 07.31
Domestic. The city of Malmö announces that it must now “take force” against so-called online hate and Islamophobia. A survey carried out shows that 70 percent of all “hate on the net” in Malmö is aimed at Muslims and people from the Middle East and North Africa.
Like the article på Facebook
– It's an absolutely terrible statistic and that behind these statistics there are so many people who feel that they don't get the same chances as others and that they endure threats in their everyday life, says the chair of the municipal board Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh (S) to P4 Malmöhus.
Hate algorithm
In a pilot project carried out together with the organization Nordic Safe Cities, a “hate algorithm” has been used to identify when the so-called online hate occurs and who it is aimed at.
The analyzes have been carried out in open groups, pages and threads on Flashback and Facebook with a connection to Malmö. In total, it is about 700 groups and pages on Facebook and 406 threads on Flashback.
– The analyzes show hatred against minorities – and an overwhelming majority of the hate comments are Islamophobic. We recognize this from what we have noticed for a long time on the city of Malmö's accounts in social media, says Malin Martelius, security coordinator at the city office and the one who led the work on the pilot project.
The analyzes show that “net hate” often appears up when Malmöites online discuss insecurity and noticed violent and criminal acts.
– It arouses strong emotions and it is in these discussions that the hatred becomes clear. But we also see that it seems to have an impact when people take a stand against hate, says Malin Martelius.
The city of Malmö will now take the following measures:
A digital “security team” is formed together with the police. “The idea is for the team to prevent, counteract and manage polarization in the digital debate, both long-term and in crisis situations.”
“Civil society” is to be “strengthened” so that they “can contribute to creating safety online, a more nuanced debate climate and safe local democracy online”.
“The third track is about our politicians who we hope will be able to step into the breach, turn their backs on hatred and contribute to a respectful digital democratic conversation”, writes Malmö city.