The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mathias Schmale on Thursday, lamented the misuse of digital platforms to subvert science and spread disinformation and hate speeches to billions of people. It is threatening democracy and human rights now. “Social media platforms have helped the United Nations to engage people around the world in our pursuit of peace, dignity and human rights on a healthy planet. But today, this same technology is often a source of fear, not hope”, he said and described hate speech as a violation of human rights. Having identified hate speech as an impediment to voter participation and access, the Commission, he said set up a National Hate Speech Register to record incidences and reports of hate speech from across Nigeria, training its staff on Monitoring and Reporting Hate Speech and the setting up of Enforcement Mechanisms on Hate Speeches resulting from the electoral process.

Source: Nigerian Tribune June 15, 2023 20:00 UTC