On the occasion of the first-ever International Day to Counter Hate Speech, the United Nations in Lebanon said #NoToHate in a two-fold communication plan targeting Lebanon and the region and advocating “more speech, not less”.
At the local level, the UN Communications Group (UNCG) in Lebanon, chaired by the UN Information Centre (UNIC) in Beirut, carried out a social experiment on the ground that led to the production of a PR stunt video highlighting the negative effects of hate speech in the community. The stunt - part of the UNCG’s communication plan for 2022 #TakeAStep- was very well perceived by the public and widely shared by the UN agencies and people on social media. https://bit.ly/3N7VOKb
At the regional level, the Centre partnered with the UN Human Rights Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (OHCHR MENA) and produced a social media package defining hate speech and stressing the communal responsibility for combating it. The social media posts also highlighted the amount of hate speech that women and gender-diverse people receive on the internet.
UNIC and OHCHR also produced two videos involving some influencers from Lebanon and the region who addressed their followers, emphasizing the role of institutions, leaders, and all community members in saying #NoToHate.
The regional plan also included a joint statement by UNIC and OHCHR published in Lebanon and the region entitled “A time to heal, not to hate”.
Finally, acting upon the “more speech, not less” slogan for countering hate speech, UNIC, through its Communication Officer Cynthia Darrous Khoury, contributed to a youth show it is partnering with on the state-run Radio Liban called “Hawa Shabeib” or [Youth on Air] to shed light on the significance of this day and the importance of countering hate speech online and offline.
