8 April 2020, 15:00-17:00
Right On
Geneva Internet Platform
Content challenges such as fake news, disinformation campaigns, and online hate speech are increasingly common these days. These challenges are far from recent developments; the outbreak of the coronavirus has only accelerated this ‘infodemic’, while the growth in online acts of hate speech – in particular towards Asian people – have contributed to the ‘coronaracism’ phenomenon.
In order to curb down the spread of false information, xenophobia, and online intolerance, governments worldwide have or are taking steps to enact legislation which sanctions such conduct. The private sector, led by tech giants Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Apple, has also taken the initiative to help fight some of the most pervasive challenges of the digital era.
Our Wednesday webchat ‘Right On’ will discuss these prevailing issues and how they affect us – particularly during a crisis, as well as what lessons we can draw from our experience in attempting to effectively address fake news and online hate speech.
To join the discussion, you need to register here.
‘Right On’ is a new digital initiative – co-organized by the Geneva Academy, the Geneva Human Rights Platform, the Geneva Internet Platform, the DiploFoundation, the Universal Right Group, the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex, as well as the Permanent Missions of Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands to the United Nations in Geneva – that will keep the human rights dialogue going during these COVID-19 times.
Every Wednesday at 15:00, experts and practitioners will discuss key human rights issues related to the current health crisis.
In this first event of the ‘Right On’ digital initiative, panelists discussed online hatespeech and fakenews, notably in the context of the current global crisis.

News
Adam Cohn
This project forms part of our research cluster on sustainable development that aims to explore the linkages between sustainable development, the protection of the environment, climate change and the branches of international law that protect the rights of the most vulnerable.
News
Carina Svenfelt works for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Tbilisi, Georgia, as a Programme Coordinator dealing with missing persons and their families.
Short Course
Francisco Proner / Farpa/ CIDH
This short course, which can be followed in Geneva or online, aims at presenting the institutions and procedures in charge of the implementation of international human rights law.
Short Course
UN Photo
This short course, which can be followed in Geneva or online, analyses the main international and regional norms governing the international protection of refugees. It notably examines the sources of international refugee law, including the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and their interaction with human rights law and international humanitarian law.
Project
ICRC
After having provided academic support to the negotiation of the UN Declaration for ten years, this research project focuses on the implementation of the UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas.
Project
Olivier Chamard/Geneva Academy
The GHRP Fridays provide an opportunity for all stakeholders to discuss the results of the United Nations (UN) Treaty Body (TB) 2020 Review and practical ways to implement change.
Publication