Countering the Cyber-Evil Narrative on Racism; Cultural Representation and the Potential Good of Cyberspace

Cyberhate, i.e., the use of social networks as online tools to convey racist, discriminatory, negationist and violent statements, is a plague of our times. Such online communication disparages individuals and groups, focusing on their inherent characteristics, such as race, colour, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language and religion. The communities which are the targets of cyberhate are ‘vulnerable’ groups, who already suffer from structural inequalities and discrimination. Cyberhate exacerbates and compounds their societal exclusion and vulnerability. This chapter focuses on two such groups, i.e., ethnic and linguistic minorities, and provides a partial counter-narrative to the Cyber-evil discourse. Supported by empirical evidence from interviews with people working with and/or representing vulnerable groups in 12 EU States, the chapter illustrates some positive aspects of the Cybersphere. It shows how Cyberspace can facilitate the empowerment of ethnic groups by redressing their misrepresentation in mainstream media and can provide a ‘breathing space’ for minority language speakers.