Polish video targeting hate speech

A graphic video of a homophobic young women morphing into Adolf Hitler is being used in a campaign highlighting the dangers of hate speech in Poland. The campaign and research are funded through the EEA Grants.

No hate speech-video

The video is a part of a “Stop Hate Speech” campaign run by the Stefan Batory Foundation, the NGO Fund Operator of the EEA Grants in Poland, and aims to tackle hate speech. Hate speech is a problem in Poland, and something Polish teens are particularly exposed to. The campaign was launched on 14 September 2015, and has already received international attention. For example, it was featured on CNN.

See the video on YouTube.

Study on hate speech

The video was prompted by an alarming study “Hate Speech in Poland” conducted in 2014 by the Polish NGO Programme. The study suggests that young Poles are becoming desensitized to hate speech, and thus more likely to accept hate speech to specify minority groups than adults. The key findings of the study indicates that nearly two-thirds of young Poles have come into contact with hate speech online, with roughly the same among encountering verbal hate speech from their peers or on the street.

The study was conducted for the Stefan Batory Foundation by the CBOS Research Center and based on sample groups of 653 Poles aged 16 to 18, and 1007 adults.

More

Read more about the Polish 'Funds for non-governmental organisations' programme

Read more about the EEA and Norway Grants to Poland