The Federal Commission against Racism (FCR) has issued an appeal against hate speech, which it says is on the rise during the Covid-19 pandemic, including in Switzerland.
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In a statement on Sunday marking International Day for the Elimination of Racial DiscriminationExternal link, the commission called for people to fight what it called “a phenomenon dictated by fear and prejudice”. Targeting scapegoats in time of crisis is not new, but now social networks are buzzing with false news and conspiracy theories, it continued.
The FCR expressed particular concern about conspiracy theories inspired by anti-Semitism, saying these had risen sharply this year. “This shows that anti-Semitism is latent in Switzerland, as elsewhere, and it only takes a crisis to revive it,” the commission states. “The FCR is concerned by these signs of hostility and intolerance being expressed more and more loudly within the population and in political circles.”
As a Swiss Abroad, how do you feel about the emergence of more conservative family policies in some US states?
In recent years several US states have adopted more conservative policies on family issues, abortion and education. As a Swiss citizen living there, how do you view this development?
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Just ten years ago we were celebrating social media as a liberating force during the Arab spring. Now we're seeing the spread of online hate speech.
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