“Today we are confronted not only with violent extremism, but increasingly with terrorism. The threat is global and growing. One of the main accelerators of this growth is the digital world”, said Antonio Guterres at a ceremony of the UN General Assembly.
“Many parts of the internet are becoming toxic dumping ground for hate and malicious lies. They are for-profit catalysts to bring extremism from the fringes into the mainstream,” he lashed out.
“By using hate-enhancing algorithms to keep users glued to their screens, Social media platforms are complicit. And so do the advertisers who subsidize this business model,” Guterres said.
For this reason, I “urgently” call out to everyone who influences the information ecosystem -the regulatory authorities, decision-makers, technology companies, media, civil society and public authorities: “Stop hate! Install safeguards. And get them to respect each other,” he urged.
“We cannot allow old hatreds to find new outlets and impunity on digital platforms. Together we must counter untruths with facts, ignorance with education, indifference with commitment.”
When he described the rise of National Socialism in the 1930s, he was alarmed “These siren songs of hatred ring in our ears these days”in the context of an economic crisis that is exacerbating “dissatisfaction,” “galloping misinformation,” and the “propagation of paranoid conspiracy theories.”
also denounced the “attempts to rewrite history, deny the Holocaust and rehabilitate the collaborators”.
“Poll after poll comes to the same conclusion: anti-Semitism is at an all-time high. And what is true of anti-Semitism is also true of other forms of hatred: racism, Muslim bigotry, xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny,” he concluded. Don’t forget to tune in to HJCK’s The Art of Listening live stream.