UNESCO-EU partnership tackles disinformation and hate speech globally
PICTURE: A community radio station in Kenya supported by the SM4P project organises live talk shows in local languages on hate speech and disinformation in 2023/UNESCO
Building on success in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Indonesia and Kenya, UNESCO continues to strengthen societal resilience against online hate speech, disinformation, and other harmful content while promoting peace through social media.
Initially launched in 2021 with a €4-million contribution from the European Union, Social Media 4 Peace (SM4P) has successfully engaged key national stakeholders to develop locally informed responses to the challenges posed by harmful online content in Indonesia, Kenya, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and Colombia.
With a new contribution of €4million in 2025, the project will extend its impact in South Africa, Iraq and Kyrgyzstan while reinforcing achievements in Indonesia and Kenya
The partnership between UNESCO and the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments at the EU is allowing us to address fast and with flexibility the impact of harmful content in societies in conflict-prone and polarised environments, while protecting freedom of expression and the rights of the most vulnerable and marginalised communities.
To date, SM4P project has mobilised over 80 partners through national multistakeholder coalitions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Indonesia and Kenya.
The project has produced ground-breaking research to better understand the real-life impacts of hate speech and disinformation on societies, especially communities in situation of marginalisation and vulnerability, developed over 20 advocacy and user empowerment tools, and trained over 3 000 youth, journalists and CSO leaders.
These efforts have enhanced fact-checking, advocacy, media and information literacy, and peacebuilding narratives while protecting freedom of expression
The national multistakeholder coalitions have successfully engaged digital platforms to address the local challenges of the spread of harmful content online.
Anida Sokol from Media Centar Sarajevo explains: ‘In BiH, we have a vibrant civil society that has been engaged in monitoring and countering hate speech.’
‘Before, although our country has been facing pressing challenges related to online hate speech, major social media platforms didn’t have any local presence or engagement in the country. Thanks to the multistakeholder coalition, this has changed.
‘We are establishing meaningful dialogues with digital platforms and demanding more accountability.’
Similarly, the project has strengthened co-ordination among stakeholders. Rosemary Mwangi from the Communications Authority of Kenya shares her experience: ‘In Kenya, all our efforts suffered from an inconsistent exchange of knowledge and experiences among us.’
‘Now, we joined forces through our multi-stakeholder coalition, FeCoMo (the National Coalition on Freedom of Expression and Content Moderation in Kenya). We are taking joint positions about emerging issues of digital spaces, and we are much more powerful in voicing what the needs for our communities are when we speak as one.’
SM4P’s influence extends beyond its target countries, contributing to global policy discussions on platform governance.
At the 2024 International Conference on Digital Platform Governance in Dubrovnik, co-hosted by UNESCO and the National Regulator of Croatia, SM4P partners played a pivotal role in shaping the vision of the Global Forum of Networks. Their participation bridged knowledge gaps and advanced collective goals in digital governance.
Looking ahead, SM4P will continue until December 2027, fostering multistakeholder collaboration and strengthening resilience against online harm. A key focus will be implementing UNESCO’s Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms, ensuring human rights and freedom of expression remain central to digital governance.
The multistakeholder coalitions established through SM4P will be instrumental in applying these Guidelines locally while informing their broader implementation.
