As an independent nonprofit, the Lab brings together do-gooders that run the professional gamut: engineers, entrepreneurs, activists, conflict experts, social scientists, data scientists, and more. The concept is simple: Bring together bright, optimistic minds in order to find solutions that will bring peace and prosperity to communities around the globe.
Read MoreA report on the use of hate speech on social media and its impact on the conflict in South Sudan has been released, indicating the use of new terminologies to spread hatred.
The report by PeaceTech Lab, operating under the United States Institute for Peace, lists emerging terms such as ‘terrorist’ to make attacking comments against ethnic groups.
The bi-weekly reports track publicly available dangerous language found on various social media platforms in order to make connections between online hate speech and violent events.
Theo Dolan, the Director of PeaceTech Lab Africa, explains that the purpose of their reporting is to help mitigate the spread of hateful language in fueling violence on the ground.
Read MoreA growing source of concern that divides people and societies is the use of hate speech through the social and mainstream media.
It is a trend Channels Academy hopes to check in the coming days, working in partnership with the Peace Media and Peace Tech Lab.
The Director of the Peace Media and Peace Tech Lab, Theo Dolan, who was at the launch of the Channels Academy in Abuja, said his organisation would support the academy’s curriculum.
“With the launch of the Channels (journalism) Academy, we can integrate hate speech training into the academy’s curriculum and that is what we are hoping to do. We’ll be in discussions about that and I think this is something that professional media can learn more about as well,” he said.
Read MoreSocial media provides a unique mechanism for fast communication and all sorts of good things. But it’s not so great for fostering real, authentic, in-person interaction. Thus while the potential upside is huge, so is the downside.
Read MoreYou might not give much thought to the hashtag – that little # symbol you sprinkle between your daily tweets and online messages. But what started as a tool to classify topics and relevant conversations has now become a rallying cry for sociopolitical action.
Read MorePeaceTech Labs and YaLa Young Leaders take to social media to promote peace in the younger generation and oppose online hate and incitement.
Read MoreDr. Sheldon Himelfarb, president of The PeaceTech Lab in Washington D.C., is one of the foremost experts in the United States on the role social media plays in both peace building and terrorism.
Read MoreLast week, thought leaders across diverse industries met to devote time and conversation to advancing collaborative strategies across new social technologies. The workshop, part of an ongoing project called Blogs & Bullets run by the PeaceTech Lab in Washington DC, took place at Encina Hall on Stanford’s campus last Friday afternoon.
Read MoreThe United States Institute of Peace (USIP) held a panel discussion on the media’s influence in Middle Eastern conflicts at its Washington, DC headquarters on May 8. Entitled “Fanning the Flames or Fueling the Peace?”, it featured Anand Varghese, program officer of the PeaceTech Initiative, which is run by the USIP; Susanne Fischer, regional program manager at the Institute of War and Peace Reporting; and Ammar al-Shahbander, chief of mission at the Institute of War and Peace Reporting.
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