Introduction

The objective of this article is to help explain our Incitement to Hatred prohibition within the Community Guidelines, how we identify material that violates it, and what enforcement actions we take to restrict such material.

What is Incitement to Hatred?

Within the prohibition wording we state this as any material likely to incite hatred against a group of persons or a member of a group of persons based on specific grounds, but what does this cover and how is it applied?

What are the specific grounds?

The regulations, as defined in Section 368E Subsection (1) of the UK Communications Act 2003, specify that the grounds to be considered are those referred to in  Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. To be more precise, the specific grounds identified are as follows:

• Sex
• Race
• Colour
• Ethnic or social origin
• Genetic features
• Language
• Religion or belief
• Political or any other opinion
• Membership of a national minority
• Property
• Birth
• Disability
• Age
• Sexual orientation

What material is covered?

To help identify if material is covered by the prohibition, we look for behaviour that indicates the presence of potential Incitement to Hatred, and then consider this against a set of possible exemptions.

Material that contains one or more of the following indicators targeted at a group of persons or member of a group of persons based on any of the specific grounds above is in-scope:

• Derogatory, denigrating, or demonising statements
• Suggestions of superiority or inferiority
• Calls for detrimental action
• Used as proof of criminality
• Used as justification for historical crimes

For material that is in-scope we consider the context, intent and whether it qualifies for an exemption under any of the following:

• Press Freedom
• Political Discourse
• Holding Power to Account
• Satire, Parody, Humour or Comedy
• Works of Fiction
• Religious
• Historical
• Educational

If the material does not qualify for an exemption, then we will take appropriate enforcement action.

What enforcement action is taken?

When material is confirmed by our moderators as being in violation of the Incitement to Hatred prohibition, it will be restricted to prevent viewing within a specific set of geographical areas, these are:

• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• Member states of the European Union
• States that form the European Economic Area
• Territories of any state covered by the above

The owner of the content where the material was found will be notified that their content has been identified as violating the Incitement to Hatred prohibition, and this will also be displayed on the Visibility tab of their content management pages. The content owner will be able to challenge the decision by submitting an appeal with sufficient supporting evidence.