ECONOMYNEXT – Harmful speech in Sri Lanka increased 113 percent after November 2024, the UN in Sri Lanka has said in its latest bulletin detailing these trends and the recent changes to social media policies that may impact online safety.
“113% increase in harmful speech in November 2024, coinciding with the Sri Lankan parliamentary election held on 14 November,” UN in Sri Lanka said.
This increase was primarily driven by a 159 percent surge in gender-based harmful speech.
There was an 8-fold rise in hate speech targeting ethnic and/or religious minorities following the declaration of results of the presidential election in September 2024, it said.
“Through collaboration with tech companies and active efforts of local organizations, targeted online campaigns against minorities have decreased since 2021 — an encouraging trend,” UN Sri Lanka said.
“However, anti-Christian, anti-Muslim and anti-Hindu sentiments persist alongside harmful speech targeting women, especially those occupying public functions or those speaking up publicly.”
Harmful speech includes hate speech, mis/disinformation, harassment and incitement.
In the first 8 months of 2024 there was a decline in harmful speech overall (year-on-year) of 32 percent, UN in Sri Lanka said. (Colombo/Feb26/2025)
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