Category: hateful comments

Posted in 21st Century life, extremism, hate group recruiting, hate groups on the web, hateful comments, parents and technology

Yes, White Supremacists Do Attempt to Recruit Kids Online

Posted on by Marti Weston

Expressing hate is so easy with just a few taps on the keyboard.Hate groups and their members have been around for a long time, but the connected world has amplified their insidious messages for people of all ages. A sizeable percentage of the online messages from these groups are aimed at middle and high school children.

Recently an article, ‘Listen up.’ How White Supremacists are Recruiting Boys Online, appeared in the September 17, 2019 Washington Post and described in some detail how extremist groups are attempting to recruit adolescents.

Over the years, I’ve shared my excitement about computers, the Internet, the web, and eventually social media with people of all ages, and I continue to believe in the power of technology and learning. Yet, on a regular basis, a small interior voice of discomfort warned me again and again about extremists’ digital activities. Articles appearing on one of my news feeds would catch my attention, or occasionally a middle or high school student or a parent would comment about hateful comments seen online. Once a colleague shared an article that described how hate groups recruit kids with cool music. Continue reading “Yes, White Supremacists Do Attempt to Recruit Kids Online” →

Posted in 21st Century life, digital citizenship case study, fake news, hateful comments, media literacy, news literacy, offensive speech, parents and technology, social media

Poor News Literacy Skills Combined With Unproven News Can Hurt Real People

Posted on by Marti Weston
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via Pixabay

For years to come there will be no better case study to illustrate the damage that unsubstantiated news, internet trolls, and social media can create than ‘Pizzagate’. The shameful, made-up information and the events that followed will comprise an authoritative discussion piece for parents, and it should enter every middle and high school media/news literacy curriculum.

In the April 20, 2017 Washington Post, Comet Pizza owner James Alefantis writes about how fake news concerning his restaurant went viral. His article What Happened When ‘PizzaGate’ Came to My Restaurant describes what happened when his business, neighbors, and customers suffered because of harassment, frightening phone calls, menacing comments to workers and their families, intimidation toward nearby businesses, and even death threats. Yet Alefantis also describes how his strong community — neighbors and other businesses — rallied in support.
Continue reading “Poor News Literacy Skills Combined With Unproven News Can Hurt Real People” →

Posted in 21st Century life, hateful comments, offensive speech, parents and technology

Teaching Children (and Adults) to Extricate Themselves from Offensive Situations

Posted on by Marti Weston
Expressing hate is so easy with just a few taps on the keyboard.
Expressing hate is so easy with just a few comments or taps on the keyboard. Develop strategies to contain it.

Can a person learn how to respond to an offensive or hateful situation? Can adults help 21st Century young people master the skills? Earlier this fall I wrote a post, Is Hate Speech Here to Stay?, wondering if up-front, in-your-face hate and offensive speech will be a continuing problem in our connected world.

Recently a New York Times article, Lessons in the Delicate Art of Confronting Offensive Speech, described the challenges and awkwardness that individuals experience when they happen to hear or see a person engaging in offensive activity. The piece highlighted research about what occurs when people challenge offensive speech, and it suggests concrete steps that a person can take when confronted by offensive behavior or speech. The authors, Benedict Carey and Jan Hoffman, point out that researchers have consistently found that a person who makes the awful comments will often curb behavior when another expresses reservations or reacts in a more indirect way.

Continue reading “Teaching Children (and Adults) to Extricate Themselves from Offensive Situations” →