In Eastern Congo, ethnic minorities have been specifically targeted by armed attacks but also, there has been a growing phenomenon of hate speech and online campaigns calling for their physical elimination. In the past, political figures and influential actors within the civil society arena have mobilized the mass to get rid of the Banyamulenge, Tutsi and Hema were kicked to the tertiary level in terms of access to rights.
Nowadays, the influence and the proliferation of social media and access to technologies have worsened the situation of minorities. Despite this growing phenomenon, there has been limited research on the role that social media plays in driving violence and the ways these campaigns are directly linked with physical violence. The ECGRC has set the understanding and analysis of hate speech targeting minorities as one of its core missions. We aim to record, interpret, and report different forms of hate speech shared on social medias across Eastern Congo and elsewhere.
The memorial website also provides some links of academic articles that have been published in this regard. We encourage victims of hate speech to share with us their experience and report whatever they think can shed light on the proliferation of hate speech.