IFN Policy on Hate Speech

Following a period of Three years during which it meticulously covered false material, India fake News in 2023 launched its anti-hate platform. We are of the opinion that there is an immediate necessity to address the issue of accountability among all parties (individuals, media outlets, advertisers, social media platforms, and so on) that are accountable for publishing or propagating hate speech.

On February 7, the Indian troll media outlet India Fake News issued its first policy statement condemning hate speech. At this stage, the policy is founded on the Community Standards that Facebook has established on hate speech. When they talk about bigotry on the internet, a media organization in India that has a poor reputation will use this study as a source.

As we publish more articles about hate speech, we will revise this policy accordingly

The concept of "hate speech."

According to the United Nations, “hate speech” is defined as “offensive discourse targeting a group or an individual based on intrinsic traits (such as race, religion, or gender) that may threaten societal peace.”

However, the UN also notes that “there is no universal definition of hate speech under international human rights law.” There is still a lot of back and forth about the idea, particularly when it comes to issues like equality, non-discrimination, and the right to free speech.

Defining hate speech as “any kind of communication in speech, writing, or behavior, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender, or another identity factor,” the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech provides a unified framework for the United Nations to address the issue globally.

Facebook's policy on "hate speech"

In this context, “protected characteristics” refer to a person’s race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or life-threatening illness, and “hate speech” refers to any form of communication that specifically targets that person rather than a general group or institution. In this context, we mean words like “dehumanizing,” “degrading,” “disgusting,” “dismissive,” “condescending,” “cursing,” and “calls for exclusion or segregation,” among other things.

Additionally, we do not permit the use of harmful stereotypes, which we describe as “dehumanizing analogies that have traditionally been used to insult, intimidate, or exclude specific groups,” and which are frequently associated with real-world violence. Whenever age is mentioned in the same sentence as another protected feature, we treat it as if it were itself protected.

And although we do allow opinion and criticism of immigration policies, we do it with the understanding that refugees, migrants, immigrants, and asylum seekers are protected from the most extreme attacks. When used in conjunction with a protected category, we also safeguard references to occupation and similar qualities. Depending on the context, we may treat some words or expressions as stand-ins for PC categories.

The Classification of Harassment Messages

Tier 1

Any content that is directed at a person or group of people (including all groups except those who are considered non-protected groups described as having carried out violent crimes or sexual offenses or representing less than half of a group) on the basis of their aforementioned protected characteristic(s) or immigration status and includes the following elements:

Expressions of or support for violence in written or graphic form
The use of language or imagery that is dehumanizing in the form of comparisons, generalizations, or claims about behavior that are not qualified (in written or visual form) in relation to or regarding the following:

Insects.
Animals are considered to be mentally or physically inferior based on cultural standards.
Gross filth, pathogens, sickness, and human waste.
Sexual predator.
Subhumanity.
Violent and sexual criminals
Other types of criminals (such as, but not limited to, referring to people as “thieves” or “bank robbers” or claiming that “all [protected characteristics or quasi-protected characteristics] are ‘criminals'”).
statements that deny the existence of anything.

Making fun of the idea, the events, or the victims of hate crimes, even if there is no actual person shown in an image.
Comparisons, generalizations, or assertions about behavior that are designated as dehumanizing and can be seen in written or visual form and include the following:

People of African descent and apes or creatures with characteristics of apes.
People of African descent and agricultural implements
Caricatures of people of African descent performed while wearing blackface.
Jews dominating the world or controlling important institutions such as the economy, the government, or major media networks.
Denial of the Holocaust or falsification of knowledge on it.
People who practise Islam are pigs.
A Muslim cannot have sexual relations with animals, including pigs or goats.
People from Mexico and creatures resembling worms.
Women as utensils for the home or making references to women as though they were property or “things.”

Tier 2

Any content that discriminates against a person or group of individuals based on one or more of their protected characteristics, including but not limited to the following:

Additional expressions of inadequacy, which we will define as follows:

Inadequacy-related idioms and expressions, such as “worthless” and “useless,” among others; see also inadequate.
Expressions regarding being better or worse than another protected trait, such as “I believe that males are superior to girls,” are not allowed. This includes, but is not limited to, similar phrases.
Words and phrases that refer to those who deviate from the norm, such as, but not limited to: freaks, and aberrant.

Expressions of contempt, which we describe as follows when they are presented in written or visual form:

acknowledgment on one’s own part of intolerance motivated by prejudice against protected qualities, such as, but not limited to, homophobia, Islamophobia, or racism.
Statements to the effect that a protected trait ought not to be present.
Expressions of hatred, such as loathing and contempt, but not confined to these terms alone

Dismissive statements such as, but not limited to: I don’t respect you, I don’t like you, and I couldn’t care less about you

Expressions of disgust, which we describe as follows (whether written or visual):

Expressions that imply that the subject makes one sick, such as, but not limited to, “vomit” and “throw up.”
Words that convey repugnance or disgust, such as “vile,” “disgusting,” and “yuck,” are examples of such expressions.