There is a big difference between free speech and hate speech British News

In fact, this hate got so bad that I decided to do something about it. So early last year I started calling people through what I like to call Sunday Blocks on social media, using the hashtag #ButlerBlocks.

Not only does it hold those who abuse me accountable, but it also educates people about the type of abuse that I – and others like me – face on social media.

Every week is filled with racism, misogyny and all kinds of hatred. Just this week, people have called me the n-word. Racist abuse has become a regular occurrence for me.

All this to say, the far right needs to learn that there is a difference between free speech – which we all want to protect – and hate speech.

Freedom of speech is about the right to express oneself freely and hold opinions without interference. But hate speech is abusive or threatening speech directed at another person, prejudice based on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or similar reasons.

There is a clear difference. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said: ‘The law cannot make people love me but it can prevent people from lynching me; and I think that’s pretty important too.’

Hate speech must always be dealt with and fully prosecuted, because we cannot allow people to be targeted because of their race, religion or identity.

This conversation is important now more than ever after the far-right riots ravaged the country last week.

The riots came after the tragic death of three girls on July 29. The suspect – born in Wales – was falsely believed to be a Muslim immigrant, which circulated on social media.

But the truth is, this riot isn’t about immigration – it’s about racism and white supremacy.

When we see the burnt shell of a business owned by a white man, Mohammed Idris, in Belfast, it is not about immigration status. It’s about the fact that he has a business, which he built with hard work and determination.

But this is not good enough for those who burn. Mohammed, who owns a cafe, said he would not reopen after his business was torched during violent protests.

He said: ‘It is not easy to stay here – more for my life and safety; I can’t try again and again with the same result.’

This is heartbreaking.

I think there is a very real connection between what people see online and what happens on the streets.

We have seen how easily people get caught up in online misinformation and whip into a frenzy, with Joe Rogan and Elon Musk recently sharing blatantly wrong content about our country locking people up for things like ‘thought crimes’.

This misinformation is worrisome, as it is irresponsible for someone with a large following to share false and disingenuous claims. But once the fake news gets out and is shared, the damage is done.

With the development of bots and in a climate of misinformation (false news spread by accident) and disinformation (false news spread on purpose) we must focus on how to combat the new threat of racism.

As the 2019 UN report on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance described under the Conservative government: ‘UK Government policies increase discrimination, fuel xenophobic sentiment and increase racial inequality.’

To list one such example, the report says ‘private and public actors’ – i.e. ‘politicians and media outlets’ have ‘played a dangerous role in fueling intolerance’.

I fear that we are seeing some of the consequences of this now, with feelings far from the right.

We only have to look at the horrific incident when a man drove a van into worshipers outside two London mosques in Finsbury Park in 2017. This man, who a judge said had a ‘crooked view of Muslims’, wanted to kill the Mayor of London. Sadiq Khan and Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

This is where anger, hatred and racism in society can lead to if we don’t stamp it out.

Hate speech remains a major problem in society, and in the online world.

My Weekly Block Project is a testament to this. And I will continue to do so so that I can highlight how dangerous hate speech is.