Day of action #KeineMachtdemHass

Justice Minister Eva Kühne-Hörmann commented: "It is a strong signal from all cooperation partners that we have conveyed our message so broadly and clearly: Don't put up with hate and incitement online. Report hate comments to hold the perpetrators accountable. At the latest since the murder of Dr. Walter Lübcke, we know that words can become deeds. #KeineMachtdemHass fights hate and incitement together in many different ways. We, as a broad alliance of civil society, media, science and justice will defend freedom on the net!"

The new image film of the cooperation was also presented during the two talk rounds. The film #KeineMachtdemHass - "Make yourself strong for yourself and others" shows how the cooperation works and what goal is being pursued together: hessenlink.de/MfbuJ

Opportunities for civil society organizations

In talk round 1, Josephine Ballon (head of the legal department HateAid), Juliane Chakrabarti (board member of the association #ichbinhier), Prof. Daniel Hornuff (Kassel University of Arts) as well as Dr. Benjamin Krause (senior public prosecutor at the Central Office for Combating Internet Crime) and Minister of Justice Eva Kühne-Hörmann talked about "Counter-speech, hotlines and victim counseling - what possibilities do civil society organizations have in a society"?

Josephine Ballon, has highlighted that the organization in the cooperation has gained persuasive power to do the right thing. "Especially when it comes to convincing affected people to enforce the law, which is possible together with the judiciary, especially with the Internet prosecutors of the ZIT." Juliane Chakrabarti has reported that five percent of commenters alone are responsible for 50 percent of hate postings, a small group. The association draws attention to the fact that no one is alone and that together we can achieve a lot. "Hate imagery is not a new phenomenon, but it is one that is too little noticed" explained Prof. Daniel Hornuff. The scientist analyzes and researches the effect of "hate images", which are also increasing in social media and thus become more interesting for prosecutors. Dr. Benjamin Krause confirmed this in the talk and pointed out that the numbers speak for themselves: since the start of the #KeineMachtdemHass cooperation, over 6000 reports have been criminally investigated, of which preliminary proceedings have been initiated in over 1650 cases and over 500 suspects have been identified nationwide.

Justice Minister Eva Kühne-Hörmann emphasized that hate and incitement spread much more widely and quickly online because "liking" and "sharing" did not exist in the analog world. "Therefore, we need awareness to adapt criminal offenses. Investigators often have no way to get the identity of the perpetrators, which is a problem. We therefore need other tools for investigators to identify offenders. This can be achieved in various ways, for example, a clear name obligation in social networks the obligation to store the "last login" and the market place principle, i.e. the obligation of social media to comply with domestic law and not to refer to their home law."

Responsibility of the media

The second round of talks discussed "Fake news, freedom of the press and freedom of expression - what responsibility does the media have in a society?" with Marco Maier (Managing Director of Hit Radio/ Tele FFH), Manfred Krupp (Director-General of Hessischer Rundfunk), Joachim Becker (Director of the State Agency for Private Broadcasting and New Media), Michael Sasse (spokesman for the Open for Diversity initiative) and Dr. Benjamin Krause (Senior Public Prosecutor at the Central Office for Combating Internet Crime) and Justice Minister Eva Kühne-Hörmann.

Justice Minister Eva Kühne-Hörmann underlined the importance of press freedom for society and pointed out her demand: "Freedom of the press is a central asset in a pluralistic society! Free reporting is what makes freedom of opinion possible in the first place. Most recently, the pandemic has shown that freedom of the press is increasingly under threat. The hostility to the press of a broad alliance of conspiracy believers, Reich citizens, neo-Nazis and esotericists poses a great danger to those working in the media. I am fighting to ensure that freedom of the press is explicitly protected in the criminal code. The spring conference of justice ministers recently adopted a Hessian initiative with this content. I call on the federal government to accept the concern of the states and implement it in law."

Marco Maier emphasized in the talk round: "Reporters and moderators are victims of hate - both analog and online. It is important to protect employees, but also not to be intimidated. That includes debunking fake news allegations, being present and countering with good quality reporting." Manfred Krupp emphasized that media must stand up for and defend the "freedom of opinion" value system. There is a stage: "A grain is sown of hate - anonymously in the net and it ends afterwards with violence or even as with Dr. Walter Lübcke with murder. We have to break this chain," said the director of Hessischer Rundfunk. With the initiative "Open for Diversity - Closed against Exclusion," Michael Sasse has concluded a model company agreement with some companies in northern Hesse that establishes a kind of code for dealing with each other. Sasse explained in the talk: "The space and freedom we have must be defended, otherwise they will become smaller and smaller. When hate and incitement are spread, action must be taken quickly and boundaries drawn to defend our freedom."

"Secure freedom of expression to ensure diversity of opinion"

The State Agency for Private Broadcasting and New Media teaches media skills to children and young people in a variety of projects at schools - especially in dealing with the media correctly in terms of content. Joachim Becker said, "We have to safeguard freedom of opinion in order to ensure diversity of opinion - our preventive approach is an important pillar here."

"Currently, the legal framework protects the perpetrators more than the victims - that has to change. In the digital world, victims are not yet protected as much as in the analog world. That's why I'm calling for a digital agenda that reflects what we have in the analog world - on the web as well. That is our mission and is core to our democracy," the justice minister concluded.

Press contact:

Sebastian Mense
University of Kassel
Communications, Press and Public Relations
Tel. 0567 804-1961
E-mail: Press[at]uni-kassel[dot]de