Salah El Wardi calls for confronting hate speech by establishing digital sovereignty

Salah El Wardi, a writer and former political detainee, has called for a robust response to hate speech, advocating for the establishment of digital sovereignty. He posits that the proliferation of hate speech, transforming from individual sentiment into a destructive force against nations, stems directly from pervasive injustice.

El Wardi detailed how injustice, manifesting across social, cultural, economic, and political spheres, actively prevents the cultivation of positive emotions. Instead, he explained, it creates a fertile ground for negativity and resentment, compelling individuals into detrimental states.

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The reason that makes hatred move from being an individual feeling to 'bad firewood that erodes the fabric of peoples and nations' is injustice in all its manifestations, social, cultural, economic, reputational, and political.

He asserts that achieving digital sovereignty is crucial for countering this trend. This concept implies regaining control over digital spaces and data, thereby creating an environment less susceptible to the spread of harmful rhetoric and fostering a more just and equitable digital society.

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It does not contribute to forming positive feelings in any individual, but rather leads to a situation where a person is forced...