By Leilah Bbaale
Social media users are being cautioned on hate speech and disinformation. Hate speech online has been linked to a global increase in violence toward minorities, including mass shootings, lynchings, and ethnic cleansing.
Social media companies such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter have vowed to fight fake news, hate speech, and abuse
Now, with the increase in number of Ugandans using social media, Hellen Mulumba, the Hoima district NRM secretary general warns that hate speech coupled with disinformation can lead to stigmatization, discrimination, and large-scale violence.
Patrick Mugabi, the Hoima City Male workers councillor says social media companies should develop approaches that utilize artificial and human intelligence together to combat misinformation and hate speech.
He also notes that the social media companies need to convene groups of experts in various domains to constantly monitor the major topics in which fake news or hate speech may cause serious harm.
This comes at a time when a new communication app Threads has been launched officially this morning. More than 10 million people have signed up to Threads, Meta’s rival to Twitter, within the first few hours of its launch.
