Standing up for democracy online

 

Katze liegt auf einem Laptop. Im Hintergrund ein Regenbogen. Darauf steht: "Making a pawsitive change"

Do you want to stand up for democracy, openness, diversity and a just society? That’s great! We are here to support you. 

On this page you will find ‚first aid kits‘ to help you promote democracy, openness and diversity online. 

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What can I do with the kits?

You can use the kits for different situations: For example, if you read a hostile comment online and need help on how to deal with it. Or if you want to make your online community safer and friendlier, e.g. with the help of netiquette, or if you want to discuss the topics in the kits within your community. To do this, you can share the kits in a post or in your story, for example, and thus enable a dialogue.

What responsibility or authorisation do I have?

It is helpful to be aware of your own options and responsibilities before using the kits. If you encounter hate speech online, you can ask yourself the following questions:
Am I myself an admin of this site/group/community and am I responsible for adhering to the rules and a culture of discussion that is sensitive to discrimination? If so, you should intervene and respond to any hate speech. You can also take precautions with a netiquette.
Am I a member of this group/follower of this page? If so, you can use one of the strategies listed above yourself or contact the admin.
Am I not part of the group and do not follow the page? Then you may not have any authorisations, but you can at least report the comment to the relevant platform.

 

Scroll through or go straight to the topic that interests you.

On which topic would you like tips and support? [Netiquette • Content warnings • Hate speech • Racism • Sexism • Queerphobia • Antifeminism • Antisemitism]

Stay nice on the net – thanks to netiquette!

„Netiquette“ – you probably know the term. Find out if you need a netiquette for your social media group or site. You can also find practical help on how to create and use a netiquette. 

Even if you are not an admin yourself, you can remind other users or admins of the content of the netiquette – or help admins and others by flagging posts that violate the netiquette. 

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Here you can view and download all the information on „Netiquette“ as a PDF-file (including links)! 
MIAU_first-aid-kit_netiquette Download

 

„Content warning – what, why and how? 

Do your posts on social media sometimes contain or touch upon sensitive or difficult, perhaps even painful or hurtful topics? If so, then this little collection is for you: these slides will tell you everything you need to know about „content warnings“ (some call them „trigger warnings“)! 

You are free to save and share these images. 

Here you can view and download all the information on „Content Warnings“ as a PDF-file (including links)! 

 

MIAU_fist-aid-kit_Content-warnings Download


Dealing with hate speech in the comment section

Do you sometimes see things on Insta, Facebook, TikTok, Telegram & Co that are not okay? Here are some specific tips on how to deal with hate speech online! 

You are free to save and share these images. 

Here you can view and download all the information on „Hate Speech“ as a PDF-file (including links)! 

 

MIAU_fist-aid-kit_hate-speech Download


Recognising and tackling racism

Racist comments and posts are everywhere on social media. Sometimes they are obvious attempts to promote one’s own anti-democratic views. Sometimes they are posts that attack work against racism. And sometimes people post racist content or comments without even realising it. Here you can get help in spotting and challenging racism online.

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You can also find more counter speech-strategies in the „first aid kit“ on hate speech.

Download the full guide on „Recognising and tackling racism“ as a concise PDF-file here.
Recognising and tackling racismDownload

 


Recognising and countering sexism online

Sexism is the discrimination (including insult, harm or oppression) of people based on their gender. Overall, it is mainly women, inter* and non-binary people who are negatively affected by sexism. However, sexism has an impact on people of all genders. How to recognise sexist statements and actions and what you can do about it online can be found here!

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Here you can download the complete ‘First Aid Kit’ on sexism as a PDF.
MIAU_Erste-Hilfe-Kit_Sexismus-Download

You can also find more counter-strategies in the „First Aid Kit“ on hate comments.


Identifying and countering queerphobia / heterosexism 

Queerphobia, or hostility towards LGBTIQ* or heterosexism, is the contempt, prejudice, aversion, discrimination against or oppression of people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*(gender), inter(sexual) or queer. To find out how to spot these types of anti-democratic expressions and actions and what you can do about them online, read on! 

You are free to save and share these images. 

You can also find more counter speech-strategies in the „first aid kit“ on hate speech.

Download the full guide on „ Identifying and countering queerphobia / heterosexism“ as a concise PDF-file here.
Identifying and countering queerphobia / heterosexismDownload

Recognising and challenging antifeminism 

 

Antifeminism is an antidemocratic ideology. Antifeminists oppose the goals and values of feminism. Feminists support equal rights, human dignity and self-determination for all people, regardless of gender. They fight against sexism, misogyny (hostility towards women), heterosexism and for the elimination of structural discrimination based on gender.

You are free to save and share these images.

You can also find more counter speech-strategies in the „first aid kit“ on hate speech.

Download the full guide on „Recognising and challenging antifeminism“ as a PDF-file (including links)! 
MIAU_first-aid-kit_AntifeminismDownload

Want to learn more about antifeminism? Then check out our antifeminism theme page.

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Recognising and countering antiseminism

 

Antisemitism is a threat to Jews worldwide. It comes in many forms online. Find out what antisemitism is, how to recognise antisemitic speech and actions, and what you can do about it online!

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Download the full guide on „Recognising and countering antiseminism“ as a PDF-file (including links)! 
MIAU_first-aid-kit_AntiseminismDownload

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Offers of help

Can’t get a comment out of your head, want some counselling or want to report an incident? Then we have compiled a small list of offers of help for you here:

 

This page is brought to you by MIAU!

MIAU! is a project of La Red and is funded by the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Federal Agency for Civic Education).