Detect Then ACT (DTCT): “Taking Direct Action against Online Hate Speech by Turning Bystanders into Upstanders”

Cross-border EU initiative to help counter online hate speech

Antwerp, Belgium, February 24, 2020

Universities, tech companies, NGOs and citizens in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, supervised by a board of security, legal and ethics experts, are working together to find answers to online hate that is dividing our societies, in an initiative supported by the European Commission’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship programme.

Online hate has seen a disturbing growth in recent years, particularly in response to refugees. Today, social media networks sometimes function as echo chambers, facilitating the anonymous expression of more radical views than in face-to-face interaction. As a consequence, hate speech has been able to infiltrate various types of public discourse online. For example, in Germany there has been a rise in extremist views on social media, openly inciting violence towards refugees. Europol has also observed that violent extremism is expanding, “partly fueled by fears of a perceived Islamization of society and [partly by] anxiety over migration”.

DTCT aims to combine human application with new AI, to analyse online hate and to create positive responses. These campaigns will focus on promoting bystanders to stand up, fostering citizens to be more resilient against online disinformation, conflict and bullying.

Assisted by technology for identifying harmful content, upstanders can then work to deflate toxic discussions in a self-regulatory approach. The project will also examine illegal cases of harmful content, according to the EU’s regulations in collaboration with social media platforms’ TOCs.

The project started in September 2019 and concluded in September 2021.