Comments on: Liking violence: A study of hate speech on Facebook in Sri Lanka

By: Lakmal Boteju

Lakmal Boteju — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 23:58:00 +0000

Wow!

By: Justice & Fair Play.

Justice & Fair Play. — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 03:50:00 +0000

Something will need to be done by a brave government soon, to curb this menace. If done too late (like so many other irritants) it would be hard to stop without a major upheaval. This government will not have the guts to do it, because they survive on ‘mass sentiment’ and not through the application of the rule of the law.

Because LTTE terrorism was not nipped in the bud, because there were so many who were sleeping when they should have not, we had 30 years of violence and thousands of deaths and destruction. The implications of its annihilation are now hounding us in the UN.

Here is another budding issue and it will create the same issues for us, in time to come. Taking to violence to purportedly safeguard a religion that is rooted in non violence? Well, that is exactly what BBS is about, as far as I can see.

By: LearnToDoYourResearchRight

LearnToDoYourResearchRight — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 11:26:00 +0000

In reply to Amarakoon. It is possible that it's not easy for Muslim groups with Islamist flavors to freely operate online because foreign intel groups are now increasingly monitoring them. Then again, the authors are cherry-picking some segments of Sinhala nationalist groups. They shouldn't have titled their paper that way, it gives the impression that they are studying Sinhala, Tamil, English- language hate speech (racist, exist, all of it) perpetrated on Facebook.

By: LearnToDoYourResearchRight

LearnToDoYourResearchRight — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 11:21:00 +0000

This title of this “study” is inherently misleading. The authors have handpicked only some Sinhala nationalist Facebook groups spreading hate speech against Muslims. So this is NOT a study on “Hate speech on Facebook in Sri Lanka,” it should be titled something along the lines of “Sinhala/Singlish Islamaphobic hate speech perpetrated on Facebook by selectively sampled Sinhala nationalist groups.”
It is a serious misstep by the authors to exclude Lankan or Lankan Diaspora oriented hate speech in other languages, namely English and Tamil, in a study titled as this.
There also seems to be a bias problem, with the authors dragging in government issues to online hate speech, where people, easily anonymously, can freely speak their minds regardless of how offensive or disgusting someone else might find them to be, or what the law tells them they can say. No government has control over these things. Especially in recent years, Islamaphobic hate speech has been on the rise worldwide, not just in Sri Lanka.
I also noticed that one of the recommendations by authors to counter hate speech is to counter message. This does happen in mainstream Facebook pages. Someone posts a racist/sexist comment, there would be others to counterpoint that or point it out as racist/sexist. But groups such as this that attracts a specific type of user, counter messaging doesn’t happen because the all the users are there because they like this type of hate speech.

By: Dev

Dev — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 12:14:00 +0000

In reply to Amarakoon. Because unlike them one of them has the patronage of the state (democratically elected)?? Maybe??

By: Amarakoon

Amarakoon — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 09:03:00 +0000

The author focused only at an one side of the coin. When he labeled BBS, Ravana balay he failed
(or deliberately avoided) name and shame Muslim radical groups. Why?

By: Srivan

Srivan — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 07:24:00 +0000

That photo speaks for itself! Photos never lie!! The phenomenon of hate speech and killings and serious forms of abuse are not at all new but form an unending criminal malaise fanned under the PTA which neuters all forms of legal remedies. It is indeed sad but the powers that be continue regardless and it can but lead to greater catastrophies amid blatant denials. What a pity to see a country with potential go to seed and seek cover behind road building and physical infrastructures!

By: Aadee

Aadee — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 03:35:00 +0000

You have mentioned Bodu bala sena, But not thowheed jamath. Wonder to what category https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZOZLWPFoW4 these falls. Oh yeah! You’ve only concerned Facebook right? Not YouTube.

By: Dev

Dev — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 11:40:00 +0000

It would be interesting to compare with Burma/Myanmar where rabidly racist monks are tearing the country apart too. I bet you it will be similar.