Deconstructing Hate Speech in the DRC: A Psychological Media Sensitization Campaign

Authors

Johann Vollhardt, University of Massachusetts, AmherstFollow
Marie CoutinFollow
Ervin Staub, University of Massachusetts, AmherstFollow
George Weiss, Stichting Radio La Benevolencija/Humanitarian Tools FoundationFollow
Johan Deflander, Stichting Radio La Benevolencija/Humanitarian Tools FoundationFollow

Abstract

This article describes an interdisciplinary and theory-based radio campaign that has been developed to counteract, and sensitize citizens to hate speech in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The article provides a brief overview of the instrumentalization of hate speech and the violent effects it has had in the Great Lakes region of Africa. A summary of the most recent events in the DRC is given. Here, hate speech was used in the presidential election campaigns in 2006, contributing to a polarization of the country and giving the campaign an ethnic underpinning. A radio program developed to counteract hate speech during the election campaigns is described. Its theoretical basis, the application of Staub’s (1989) theory of the evolution of mass violence to hate speech, is presented. Based on this and other relevant psychological concepts, characteristics and psychological aspects of hate speech are summarized, and markers and guidelines are provided that allow listeners to detect and counteract hate speech.

Recommended Citation

Vollhardt, Johann; Coutin, Marie; Staub, Ervin; Weiss, George; and Deflander, Johan (2006) "Deconstructing Hate Speech in the DRC: A Psychological Media Sensitization Campaign," Journal of Hate Studies: Vol. 5, Article 2.
DOI: 10.33972/jhs.40
Available at: https://repository.gonzaga.edu/jhs/vol5/iss1/2

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.