TY - JOUR
T1 - Hate-Speech in Greece and Cyprus
T2 - How Public Communication Practitioners Discuss the Phenomenon
AU - Cochliou, Despina
AU - Poulakidakos, Stamatis
AU - Rigou, Marina
AU - Papathanassopoulos, Stylianos
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - (Online) hate speech appears as a growing problem in Greece and Cyprus attributed to prejudices toward specific groups, the evolution of online media, lack of awareness and of appropriate educational tools to recognize and counter it. Communication professionals and media practitioners produce hate speech content both intentionally, to gain visibility and unintentionally due to their inability to recognize it. This paper presents a study conducted simultaneously for the first time in Greece and Cyprus that explored the issue of (online) hate speech, approaching it in a socio-centric rationale as hate discourse. The issue was researched through a qualitative inquiry with semi-structured interviews and focus groups conducted in Greece and Cyprus. According to the personal and professional perceptions of the public communication experts who participated in our research, hate speech impacts predominantly vulnerable social groups, and the deficiency in legal frameworks in both countries enables rather than combats this pathogenesis. This paper contributes toward a better understanding of hate speech in the two countries and how public communication practitioners perceive and experience it.
AB - (Online) hate speech appears as a growing problem in Greece and Cyprus attributed to prejudices toward specific groups, the evolution of online media, lack of awareness and of appropriate educational tools to recognize and counter it. Communication professionals and media practitioners produce hate speech content both intentionally, to gain visibility and unintentionally due to their inability to recognize it. This paper presents a study conducted simultaneously for the first time in Greece and Cyprus that explored the issue of (online) hate speech, approaching it in a socio-centric rationale as hate discourse. The issue was researched through a qualitative inquiry with semi-structured interviews and focus groups conducted in Greece and Cyprus. According to the personal and professional perceptions of the public communication experts who participated in our research, hate speech impacts predominantly vulnerable social groups, and the deficiency in legal frameworks in both countries enables rather than combats this pathogenesis. This paper contributes toward a better understanding of hate speech in the two countries and how public communication practitioners perceive and experience it.
KW - citizen journalists
KW - framework analysis
KW - hate discourse
KW - Hate speech
KW - journalism students
KW - journalists
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85196783293&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/17512786.2024.2369109
DO - 10.1080/17512786.2024.2369109
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85196783293
SN - 1751-2786
JO - Journalism Practice
JF - Journalism Practice
ER -