Course “Identification and Exclusion of Online Hate Speech and Insult” Held at VSU

On 3 November, the “Vanadzor State University after H. Tumanyan” Foundation hosted the course “Identification and Exclusion of Online Hate Speech and Insult”, organised within the framework of the programme “moderAItor 2.0. AI Technologies for Democratic Dialogue and the Protection of Digital Rights”. The course aimed to develop practical skills in recognising, identifying and countering hate speech and insult on online platforms, in particular where they are manifested on gender and political grounds.

The course covered two main strands.

First, within the legal strand, Ara Ghazaryan, lawyer and expert in the law of the Republic of Armenia and international law presented the legal demarcation between freedom of speech and hate speech, as well as the legal standards and case law of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights. The legislative regulation of political and online hate speech in the Republic of Armenia and the related judicial practice were also addressed.

Second, in the gender strand, Ani Kojoyan, a lecturer at Yerevan State University who underwent a training at the University of Arizona, presented the specific features of gender-based hate speech, negative stereotypes and gender-sensitive communication. Participants discussed how gender stereotypes manifest themselves in the media and the digital environment, their potential to incite discrimination and hatred, and the mechanisms of online bullying and targeting.

The course will be followed by a data-driven research scholarship programme. Six students, selected on a competitive basis, will receive research funding and, under the mentorship of leading specialists, will carry out research based on moderAItor data. The results will undergo professional peer review and be published, which will also contribute to the development of the university’s research activity.

The programme is implemented jointly by the “All for Equal Rights” Foundation and the “Multilateral Information Institute” NGO, with the support of the UK Government.