Dilemmas Between Freedom of Speech and Hate Speech: Russophobia on Facebook and Instagram in the Spanish Media
On March 11, 2022, Russia opened a criminal case against Meta, the parent firm that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It alleged that Facebook had modified its community standards, broadening its concept of freedom of speech to allow alleged hate speech against Russian citizens, amid the confl...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cogitatio
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Politics and Governance |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/6330 |
| _version_ | 1797825337598410752 |
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| author | David Caldevilla-Domínguez Almudena Barrientos-Báez Graciela Padilla-Castillo |
| author_facet | David Caldevilla-Domínguez Almudena Barrientos-Báez Graciela Padilla-Castillo |
| author_sort | David Caldevilla-Domínguez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | On March 11, 2022, Russia opened a criminal case against Meta, the parent firm that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It alleged that Facebook had modified its community standards, broadening its concept of freedom of speech to allow alleged hate speech against Russian citizens, amid the conflict in Ukraine. Reuters (2022, para. 1) refers to a “temporary change in the company’s hate speech policy,” according to confidential Facebook documents. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights called the change “worrying” (“Rusia y Ucrania,” 2022, para. 11). In this context, this article addresses two objectives: (a) to explore and comment on the state of the art on freedom of expression in social networks and its deontological limitations to prevent hatred against nationalities (EU legislation, scientific research, Twitter, and Instagram deontological limitations); and (b) to study the emergence of possible cases of Russophobia, in a mediatized form, through the news of Spanish media and the comments they generated on their Facebook and Instagram sites. A triangular methodology is used: analytical and longitudinal commentary on EU definitions and standards on hate speech; quantitative analysis of news items in Spanish media on Russophobia, on Facebook and Instagram, published between January 1, 2022, and October 20, 2022; and mixed analysis of the engagement of these news items, thanks to the Fanpage Karma tool. The media coverage of Russophobia is scarce, with an average of one news item per media and, exceptionally, with two news items in very few cases. It is also striking that in such a long period, only six hashtags are used. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:52:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b776318e228f4a06bbc3a95011e077d5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2183-2463 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:52:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Politics and Governance |
| spelling | doaj.art-b776318e228f4a06bbc3a95011e077d52023-05-17T09:00:59ZengCogitatioPolitics and Governance2183-24632023-05-0111214715910.17645/pag.v11i2.63302883Dilemmas Between Freedom of Speech and Hate Speech: Russophobia on Facebook and Instagram in the Spanish MediaDavid Caldevilla-Domínguez0Almudena Barrientos-Báez1Graciela Padilla-Castillo2Department of Communication Theories and Communication Analysis, Complutense University of Madrid, SpainDepartment of Communication Theories and Communication Analysis, Complutense University of Madrid, SpainDepartment of Journalism and New Media, Complutense University of Madrid, SpainOn March 11, 2022, Russia opened a criminal case against Meta, the parent firm that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It alleged that Facebook had modified its community standards, broadening its concept of freedom of speech to allow alleged hate speech against Russian citizens, amid the conflict in Ukraine. Reuters (2022, para. 1) refers to a “temporary change in the company’s hate speech policy,” according to confidential Facebook documents. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights called the change “worrying” (“Rusia y Ucrania,” 2022, para. 11). In this context, this article addresses two objectives: (a) to explore and comment on the state of the art on freedom of expression in social networks and its deontological limitations to prevent hatred against nationalities (EU legislation, scientific research, Twitter, and Instagram deontological limitations); and (b) to study the emergence of possible cases of Russophobia, in a mediatized form, through the news of Spanish media and the comments they generated on their Facebook and Instagram sites. A triangular methodology is used: analytical and longitudinal commentary on EU definitions and standards on hate speech; quantitative analysis of news items in Spanish media on Russophobia, on Facebook and Instagram, published between January 1, 2022, and October 20, 2022; and mixed analysis of the engagement of these news items, thanks to the Fanpage Karma tool. The media coverage of Russophobia is scarce, with an average of one news item per media and, exceptionally, with two news items in very few cases. It is also striking that in such a long period, only six hashtags are used.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/6330deontologyfacebookfreedom of speechhate speechinstagrammediametarussiarussophobiasocial media |
| spellingShingle | David Caldevilla-Domínguez Almudena Barrientos-Báez Graciela Padilla-Castillo Dilemmas Between Freedom of Speech and Hate Speech: Russophobia on Facebook and Instagram in the Spanish Media Politics and Governance deontology freedom of speech hate speech media meta russia russophobia social media |
| title | Dilemmas Between Freedom of Speech and Hate Speech: Russophobia on Facebook and Instagram in the Spanish Media |
| title_full | Dilemmas Between Freedom of Speech and Hate Speech: Russophobia on Facebook and Instagram in the Spanish Media |
| title_fullStr | Dilemmas Between Freedom of Speech and Hate Speech: Russophobia on Facebook and Instagram in the Spanish Media |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dilemmas Between Freedom of Speech and Hate Speech: Russophobia on Facebook and Instagram in the Spanish Media |
| title_short | Dilemmas Between Freedom of Speech and Hate Speech: Russophobia on Facebook and Instagram in the Spanish Media |
| title_sort | dilemmas between freedom of speech and hate speech russophobia on facebook and instagram in the spanish media |
| topic | deontology freedom of speech hate speech media meta russia russophobia social media |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/6330 |
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