The pilot study on effectiveness, risks and potential of using counter and alternative narratives to address hate speech, started with a workshop on counter-narratives and data collection. The representatives of the civil society organisations involved in the pilot studies shared their approaches in designing human rights-based narratives and countering hate speech. They got more information on the scope of the study and the data collection, which is put in place to analyse their work, and draw conclusions on the effectiveness of counter-narratives.

The pilot study is commissioned by the Council of Europe and run by the Justice for Prosperity Foundation who are leading the research. In order to better understand the effectiveness of CANs the pilot study will explore through observations the interventions or communication strategies employed by CSOs to counter hate speech and promote human rights in mainly the online environment. By examining the long-term effects using CANs, the project aims to provide a better understanding of their application, use, and potential to foster more acceptance and inclusion in society, based on appreciation of human rights values and principles.

The study is available here.

The activity was implemented in the framework of the EU-Council of Europe’s joint project “Increasing civil society organisations’ knowledge and capacity to counter hate speech online”. The project is co-funded by the European Union and Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe until December 2024.