DeMoLiSH is an innovative, multidisciplinary research project addressing hate speech and xenophobia in Greece, expressed online through social media and offline in real-life behavior from 2015 to 2022. Specifically, DeMoLiSH aims to detect and record hate speech on Twitter and xenophobic violent attacks committed in Greece over a period that covers a variety of socio-economic contexts ranging from the economic crisis to the refugee and the pandemic crises.
DeMoLiSH also examines the link between hate speech on social media and xenophobic attacks in real life. By comparing discriminatory tweets and actual hate crimes, DeMoLiSH aims to understand how tweets based on race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion relate to hate crimes with similar biases.
In order to understand the relationship between online hate speech and offline xenophobic attacks, the project will proceed through the following steps, each corresponding to one of its objectives.
Objective 1
Capture, record and study hateful tweets expressing xenophobic sentiments and attitudes on Greek Twitter from 2015 to 2022.
Objective 2
Monitor, record and map instances of xenophobic attacks in Greece as reported in media collections from 2015 to 2022.
Objective 3
Connect and correlate the offline xenophobic attacks with online hate speech on social media platforms with the aim of mapping the mechanisms by which social media hate speech contributes to xenophobic political violence.
DeMoLiSH contributes to the fight against racial and ethnic prejudice in Greece by examining the link between online hate speech and real-world xenophobic attacks. In a country with a significant migrant and refugee population, this research provides valuable insights for policy makers and NGOs. It serves as a practical tool for testing effective policies to promote integration and fostering understanding among diverse communities and people of different identities. The findings also provide concrete support for crafting counter-narratives and capacity-building initiatives to counteract xenophobic narratives, combat discrimination and limit the spread of hate speech and hate crimes in online and offline settings.