The lazy person's guide - from level zero to superhero

WHAT IS HATE SPEECH?
Hate speech (online and offline) can refer to different expressions of hate and discrimination against the members of a particular hated group, often under the form of insults or offensive illustrations.

Opinions differ over both understandings of what constitutes hate speech and which consequences it may
imply.

”Freedom of speech ” is often opposed to hate speech and consequently, some people are reluctant to “act” against hate speech because they perceive it as an unacceptable constraint on their fundamental human right to freedom of expression.

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (1997) defines it as follows:
"Hate speech (...) covers all forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify racial hatred, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or other forms of hatred based on intolerance, including intolerance expressed by
aggressive nationalism and ethnocentrism, as well as discrimination and hostility against minorities, migrants and people of immigrant origin."

In the context of the HateBusters project, the definition of hate speech is much broader than that provided by the Council of Europe. To keep it simple: hate speech refers to any expression of discriminatory hate towards people. Anything which falls under this definition, then, needs to b e addressed and opposed.