This conference is organized within the framework of the Programme for Studies on Human Rights in Context at Ghent University (Belgium), in collaboration with leading institutions in the field of human rights. Taking place on 15 December 2025, the academic event brings together scholars, civil society representatives, and researchers from around the world to explore the rise of hate speech in the digital age, its links to populist politics, and the legal and regulatory tools used to address it. Selected papers from the Call for Papers will be presented during the program and later published.
The conference will feature a series of panels that highlight different perspectives on hate speech:
- Governing Hate Online: Law, Responsibility, and Platform Power – Looking at the legal frameworks and platform responsibilities that shape online spaces and exploring the tension between protecting free expression and preventing harm.
- Populism and Digital Polarization: The Politics of Online Hate – Analysing how populist actors and social media co-create polarization, shape political discourse, and normalize hate online.
- Gendered Hate and Online Misogyny: Narratives, Movements, and Counter voices – Focusing on misogyny and anti-gender movements, this session explores how online spaces both reinforce inequality and provide opportunities for resistance.
- Media, Journalism, and Countering Hate Narratives – Examining the role of journalists and media practitioners in confronting disinformation and hate, including ethical storytelling, resilience in exile, and fact-checking strategies.
- Emotions, Psychology, and the Human Experience of Hate – Exploring the emotional and psychological roots of online hostility, including fear, vulnerability, and identity dynamics, and considering ways to disengage digital hate.
- Global and Comparative Perspectives on Hate Speech – Taking a wide-angle view, this session looks at how hate speech emerges and is addressed in diverse contexts, with case studies from Turkey, China, Latin America, and Europe.
The conference is organized in collaboration with:
- Bonavero Institute of Human Rights – University of Oxford, UK
- Human Rights Implementation Centre – University of Bristol Law School, UK
- Human Rights Institute – Universitat de València, Spain
- Solidarity with OTHERS– Brussels, Belgium
- Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law – Sweden
The Editorial Board includes:
- Prof. Dr. Clara Burbano-Herrera (Director, Programme for Studies on Human Rights in Context, Faculty of Law and Criminology, Ghent University, Belgium)
- Prof. Dr. Yves Haeck (Director, Programme for Studies on Human Rights in Context, Faculty of Law and Criminology, Ghent University, Belgium)
- Dr. Vedat Demir (Media and Communication Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany)
- Dr. Eliza Bechtold (Freedom of Expression, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights – University of Oxford, UK)
- Ms. Zoë Grossi (International Law, Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, Belgium)
