PETALING JAYA, Nov 2 — The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) today launched a website to "Say No to Hate Speech” as Malaysia enters election season.

CIJ executive director Wathshlah G. Naidu encouraged Malaysians to report hate speech when they see it to the portal, which exists to educate the public on hate speech while providing general updates on how hate speech occurs and who key actors are.

"Politicians and other key actors often weaponise inflammatory tropes and rhetoric to control narratives and influence public understanding around issues like race, religion, royalty, gender and LGBTIQ, and refugees and migrants.

"They do so to advance narrow political interests that do not serve a democracy,” she said.

She added that hate speech diverts attention from solution-focused thinking while increasing the potential for harm against marginalised communities.

CIJ and its partners expect hate speech and the dissemination of disinformation to intensify on social media during GE15, she said.

She said increases have been observed to take place in past elections and when there is a shake-up of the political landscape that threatens government stability, citing the immediate days after the 'Sheraton Move' of February 2020 and during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.

The project aims to monitor the severity of hate speech and to develop collective responses to hate-based narratives leading up to and during GE15, while also enabling the public to respond more effectively to encountering hate speech online.

Ryan Chua from Pusat Komas, who was also at the launch, said that the microsite aims to remind key actors that they are always under public scrutiny.

"We are watching you and as we are watching you, we are documenting it,” he said.

He said that this is because the communities often targeted by hate speech are particularly vulnerable.

The data from the project can also be used to document electoral offences, he added.

Wathshlah also indicated that those who are directly affected by hate speech will be provided certain services, including funding for their legal defence if needed.

The project is divided into two components.

The first monitoring component is a collaboration involving CIJ and three universities — Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Sabah and University of Nottingham Malaysia.

The second, a rapid response component, involves a partnership between CIJ and Pusat Komsas, Sisters in Islam, Architects of Diversity, Beyond Borders Malaysia, Asylum Access Malaysia, Sahabat Wanita, Tenaganita, North South Initiative and Justice for Sisters.

"The monitoring component will measure the severity of hate speech around race, religion, royalty, gender and LGBTIQ, and refugees and migrants, that are amplified by political parties, politicians, government agencies, media organisations and key opinion leaders,” said Wathshlah.

The project established four levels of hate speech: level one involves disagreements or non-offensive language, level two is made up of offensive or discriminatory language, level three is dehumanising or hostile language and level four is language that causes incitement or calls for violence.

The rapid response component involves an alert system build on the data from the monitoring component, which identifies when a particular expression requires some sort of response or action in a timely manner.

The site can be accessed at: https://cijmalaysia.net/election-monitoring/about/