Publication

Addressing hate speech through education: A guide for policy makers

Countering harmful, discriminatory and violent narratives in the form of xenophobia, racism, antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred and other types of intolerance, whether online or offline, requires interventions at every level of education, in both formal and non-formal settings. This guide offers concrete recommendations, good practices and lessons learned on how to combat hate speech and provide safe and respectful learning environments, as well as the broader goal of fostering inclusive societies.

31 March 2023

Last update:10 January 2024

Addressing hate speech through education: a guide for policy-makers

UNESCO

United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect

2023

UNESCO

Hate speech is spreading faster and further than ever before as a result of social media user growth and the rise of populism. Both online and offline, hate speech targets people and groups based on who they are. It has the potential to ignite and fuel violence, spawn violent extremist ideologies, including atrocity crimes and genocide. It discriminates and infringes on individual and collective human rights, and undermines social cohesion.

Education can play a central role in countering hateful narratives and the emergence of group-targeted violence. Educational responses to hate speech and all forms of hateful communication include:

Training teachers and learners on the values and practices related to being respectful global and digital citizens;
Adopting pedagogical and whole-school approaches to strengthening social and emotional learning;
Revising and reviewing curricula and educational materials to make them culturally responsive and to include content that identifies hate speech and promotes the right to freedom of expression;

This policy guide developed by UNESCO and the United Nations’ Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect explores these educational responses and provides guidance and recommendations to policy-makers on how to strengthen education systems to counter hate speech.