Resilience against online hate

When you publicly speak out against injustice—such as racism, sexism, queer- and transphobia, Islamophobia, social inequality, or climate disruption—you or others in your organization may face online hate: intimidating, insulting, and increasingly even threatening responses on social media. Sometimes, online hate escalates into physical threats, directed at you, for example.

Experience from social changemakers, as well as research (in Dutch), shows that online hate primarily affects people who already face discrimination. This includes people of color, women, queer and trans individuals, and people with disabilities.

The consequences are profound: self-censorship, stress-related complaints, or even withdrawal. As a result, people become less willing to speak out against injustice, while online hate becomes increasingly normalized. At Stroomversnellers, we see this as a serious issue—not only for the individuals and movements affected but for society as a whole.

Workshop series

Stroomversnellers has developed a two-part workshop series in collaboration with a group of experience based experts: "Resilience Against Online Hate." In this series, we discuss the five key elements of resilience against online hate and provide numerous practical tips to help your organization become more resilient.

1. Foundation Workshop

For as many people as possible from across the organization—resilience against online hate requires mutual support.

Objectives:

• Increase collective awareness of online hate
• Understand the potential impact of online hate
• Learn how to support yourself and each other when it happens
• Understand the basics of technical protection

After this workshop, online hate will be on everyone’s radar. Those who have been targeted before will no longer feel alone, and the biggest risks of future online hate attacks will be mitigated.

2. In-Depth Workshop

For those most directly involved, such as communication staff, spokespersons, and support teams.

Objectives:

• Develop a concrete action plan for your organization
• Address specific challenges, such as:
  • How to respond to online hate in terms of content
  • Further technical protection measures
  • Support needs for spokespersons
  • When and how to report incidents to authorities

After this workshop, your team will have the tools to tackle specific challenges related to online hate, and your organization will have a plan to minimize its impact at every stage of a potential attack.

Workshop Details

The workshops are led by a duo of trainers from Stroomversnellers, with at least one trainer being an experience based expert.

Ideally, the workshops are conducted in person and last approximately 4 hours. The first workshop can also be delivered online upon request, in a 2.5-hour session.