The workshop on discussion of news items within the scope of Media Watch on Hate Speech project was held on October 25, 2018 with the contributions of Friedrich Naumann Foundation and with the participation of individuals from different segments of the society. Workshop took place at Hrant Dink Foundation Anarad Hığutyun Building under the moderation of Prof. Dr. Aslı Tunç.

The participants of the workshop were chosen among the applicants of the open call by the Foundation. In addition to the project team and the moderators, workshop was participated by twelve people including students from departments of Journalism, TV Reporting, Translation Studies, Women’s Studies, Law, Political Science and International Relations, and Sociology and individuals from different professions such as communications professor, news editor, teacher, lawyer and sivil society.

In the workshop, primarily, the impact of the internet on the social life and the current situation were discussed. One of the main issues of the debate was the difficulties of detecting and monitoring hate speech and discriminatory discourses spreading through social media. It has been pointed out that the opportunities provided by the internet can, at the same time, legitimize and reproduce discrimination in real life. In particular, the impact of hate speech against refugees on social polarization and the possible consequences of such hate speech in social networks such as twitter and Facebook were discussed through examples. The workshop ended with a discussion of methods and examples of the fight against hate speech and discriminatory discourse produced on the internet.