Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that hate speech is the first step toward dehumanisation and a tool for political division, targeting groups such as women, migrants, refugees, LGBTQIA+ people, persons with disabilities, and other minorities.
He stressed that in the digital age, hate speech spreads faster than ever, amplified by unregulated online platforms and intensified by artificial intelligence, whose algorithms reward outrage and division. Online anonymity further complicates efforts to hold perpetrators accountable.
Kalliopi Mingeirou, Chief of the Ending Violence against Women Section at UN-Women, described the manosphere as an ecosystem of algorithm-driven content that rapidly spreads misogyny and opposition to gender equality, normalizing such views.
Mingeirou noted that while AI did not create misogyny, it is amplifying hatred against women by enabling abusers to create and disseminate deepfakes, manipulated images, and impersonation content more quickly and cheaply.
Since 2019, the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech has coordinated efforts to identify, prevent, and confront hate speech across the UN system while respecting international human rights standards. Guterres emphasized that freedom of expression should not excuse harmful speech.
The UN Global Principles for Information Integrity envision a world where global information flows are less dominated by a few companies, and people have greater control over the media they consume, their online experiences, and use of their personal data.