First anniversary for Charities Against Hate
Melanie May | 7 July 2021 | News
Charities Against Hate was created a year ago this week, when a group of charities came together to consider how social media platforms could become more inclusive and reduce online hate speech.
The group is now at over 40 members and includes Barnardo’s, Children’s Society, Epilepsy Action and Stonewall. Over the past year, Charities Against Hate has set up working groups and collaborated with external partners, met with MPs, politicians and governments, reviewing ethical marketing policies, creating guidance for staff, volunteers and the wider Third Sector community, and working together with people who have experienced hate speech online to create recommendations for social media platform.
Achievements and outcomes include:
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- Distributed and analysed experience surveys from more than 420 charity staff and members of their communities to learn about their experiences of hate online and what can be done to stop it taking place.
- Conducted research that explores the impact of hate speech, to form a solid evidence-base on the topic, demonstrating the need to safeguard the mental health and wellbeing of people who use social media platforms.
- Lobbied MPs to garner support and demonstrate the impact on hate online.
- Created an MP Toolkit to support anyone who would like to get in touch with their MP to share their experiences of online hate speech.
- Developed guidance to help people share their stories using #ShareYourStory.
- Created 16 product recommendations for social media companies to consider in tackling online hate.
- Created a Guide to Best Practice in Ethical Digital Marketing & Comms Practices for charities to help them engage in ethical marketing and comms and support them in tackling hate speech.
82% of the charities who are part of the collective say that they have used the group’s resources to inform their work and 75% say they have shared them with colleagues.
Sarah Clarke, Head of Membership at CharityComms, and a volunteer on the collective’s Comms group, said:
“There is still a long way to go before social media platforms become more equitable and safer spaces for everyone. The creation of campaigns such as #StopOnlineAbuse, #ReclaimSocial, and the continuing work of organisations such as Kick It Out and Stop Funding Hate, demonstrates that, as one participant told us, this is a huge issue, one that isn’t going away, and one that lots of other people are sitting up and taking notice of – there is a real sense that people want change.”
Charlie Crabtree, Marketing and Communications Manager at KeyRing Living Support Networks, and volunteer on the Lived Experience group said:
“It has been especially important to reflect the experiences of the people that our charities support through our work. The pandemic has intensified a digital divide and the exclusion that people are facing as a result. As we work to bridge that divide we must also ensure safe and healthy online spaces where people will not face online hate.”
Next steps for Charities Against Hate include an event in autumn 2021 and consideration of the future focus of the group.
Charities Against Hate’s first anniversary falls in the same week as RNLI has faced backlash from the Daily Mail as well as on social media, and from Nigel Farage, over its rescuing of immigrants.
RNLI issued a very clear statement in response, saying that it exists to save lives at sea and its lifesavers help those in need without judgement of how they came to be in the water – something that has always been and will always remain its ethos.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.