Afrasianet - Zahi Wehbe - Using hate speech to mobilize people by provoking feelings of fear and anger towards the "other" is no less dangerous than using a weapon. A bullet kills a person, but the word can kill millions.

Mexican-American star Selena Gomez couldn't help but burst into tears as she criticised US President Donald Trump's decision to deport refugees from the United States. As soon as the video went viral on social media, Trump supporters hurled insults and insults at her, forcing her to delete the video from her private pages.

An incident that may seem ordinary in the eyes of some, given the scourges and negatives witnessed by social media, but it is an indication of the gendarmerie reached by some who are addicted to hate speech and racism until they denounce a tear shed on the poor who had to leave their homelands in search of an "American dream" that exists only in the imagination of its owners.

Hate speech has become a widespread phenomenon in various fields, especially in politics, the media, and social media. This discourse is not just words spoken or written, but has serious repercussions for individuals and societies, as it deepens divisions, fuels violence, and weakens social cohesion. Therefore, it is necessary to understand its risks and take serious steps to address it and replace it with rational humanitarian discourse that promotes positive values and builds bridges of understanding between people.

Hate speech is any verbal, written or symbolic expression used to spread hatred or incitement against an individual or group, based on their ethnic, religious, political or social affiliation, and the great disaster is that this speech is not only issued by the general public or from the rabble and ignorant, but is uttered by senior leaders and officials such as Trump, whose election campaigns were not free from spreading hatred, racism and bullying towards his opponents, and towards large segments of peoples and people, just as his policies are not free from A blatant bias for the oppressors against the oppressed, and for tyrants against the oppressed.

Using hate speech to mobilize people by fomenting feelings of fear and anger toward the "other," whether that other is an opposition political party or a different ethnic or religious group, is just as dangerous as the use of weapons. A bullet kills a person, but the word can kill millions.

This rhetoric is not limited to politicians and their platforms, but is contributed to by major media outlets by spreading false news or stereotypes that reinforce a negative view of certain groups. Social media, due to its rapid and anonymous nature of interaction, facilitates the spread of hate speech widely and rapidly, as its algorithms are (apparently) programmed to highlight negative speech more than positive speech.

Needless to say, hate speech divides society into rival groups, weakening national unity and threatening social stability. Constant incitement through such speech can lead to violent acts, as has happened in many cases where words have turned into acts of aggression against individuals or groups in more than one place.

We in Lebanon have a "good example" of how social media can be used to spread hate speech against certain groups, and on the tongues of politicians and media professionals who are supposed to be "elites", to the extent that some even wish that the recent Israeli aggression had annihilated an entire segment of the Lebanese people!

In the face of the dangers of this hateful speech, it is necessary to work to enact strict laws that criminalize it, and ensure that those who promote it are held accountable, while maintaining a balance between sacred freedom of expression and protecting individuals from incitement and its dangerous and heinous consequences, and the media must assume its responsibility to spread positive discourse that promotes human values, and avoids media amplification of hate news. Awareness of the dangers of hate speech should be promoted through the broadcast of educational programs that promote the values of tolerance and understanding among different segments of society.

Instead of hate speech, work should be done to promote rational human discourse based on mutual respect and constructive dialogue. A discourse that recognizes diversity as a positive force, and works to build bridges of communication between different people. This can be achieved by: promoting intercultural dialogue, encouraging encounters and discussions between individuals from different backgrounds to promote mutual understanding, focusing on shared values that unite human beings such as justice, equality and human dignity, and giving more space to voices calling for tolerance and dialogue, rather than focusing on Extremist voices that add fuel to sectarian and sectarian differences, and contribute to increasing social fissures and fragmentation.

But what is the solution if the governments themselves and the giant companies that own digital platforms contribute to spreading hate speech, and practice a policy of blocking, preventing and excluding against nations, peoples, powers and individuals who reject the hegemony of great powers and oppose colonial policies in their various aspects?

The bet here is on the conscious elites in politics, culture and media. Elites who are aware of the dangers of this discourse and its catastrophic impact on the unity of nations and societies, may they (elites) distance themselves from hate speech, hatred, sectarianism and sectarianism, and contribute to spreading a rational human discourse that respects the right to diversity and difference, rejects the logic of domination and cancellation, and is biased towards the right of peoples to freedom and independence in every sense of the words freedom and independence, because the occupation today is no longer limited to the military and security aspect, but has become multifaceted, arms and shapes.

The bet is on the birth of enlightenment humanitarian currents that curb the terrible decline that afflicts humanity, and restores to politics and leadership some of their human essence and their victorious meaning of the values of right, justice and equality, so that Trump and those like him are not the model and example.