A/80/496 racist hate speech, legitimizing its broad spread. The submissions also contained descriptions of how such manifestations of racist hate speech could be linked to the dissemination of misinformation and disinformation and how, in today’s interconnected world, digital technologies and social media platforms could play a powerful role in spreading and amplifying racist hate speech. This online amplification of racist hatred speech can have an impact on the trajectory of conflict within directly affected countries and spread hatred globally and incite tension and social violence towards members of racial and ethnic groups that are perceived as being connected to conflicts in other countries. 18 15. The effect of racist hate speech on the development, outbreak and escalation of conflict situations has been recognized by multiple human rights entities. It was acknowledged in the 2013 Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence that many of the conflicts worldwide had involved a component of incitement to national, racial or religious hatred. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination’s general recommendation No. 35 (2013), on combating racist hate speech, underlined the “role of racist hate speech in processes leading to mass violations of human rights and genocide, and in conflict situations ”. 19 The Special Rapporteur on minority issues also recognized the relationship between hate speech and hate crimes, as well as atrocities, including genocide. 20 16. The Special Rapporteur presented a report to the General Assembly in 2023 that discussed online racist hate speech. 21 In the report, the Special Rapporteur recognized the link between the most serious forms of hate speech and incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence and conflict situations. She called upon States to prohibit and, in the most serious cases, criminalize racist hate speech. The Special Rapporteur also urged the implementation of initiatives focused on non-legal measures, such as counter-speech, public awareness campaigns, education, community projects and steps to build societal support for plurality, based on research and data on the societal drivers of racist hate speech. Digital technology in conflict and algorithmic bias 17. Digital technology, in particular artificial intelligence, is playing an increasing and divisive role in conflict. The development and deployment of artificial intelligence is interconnected with racist hate speech, as described above. Content shaping algorithms developed by social media companies can play a powerful role in the spread of racist hate speech that takes place online. Content -shaping algorithms are designed to maximize the time that people spend on social media platforms and are exposed to profit-generating advertising. They therefore often prioritize the dissemination of materials that generate high engagement, regardless of their credibility, veracity and potential to cause harm. Content-shaping algorithms can lead to the quick dissemination and amplification of racially hateful materials to a wide audience, perpetuating harmful beliefs and narratives. 22 An emblematic case of online racist hate speech fuelling systemic violence was the sustained demonization of the Rohingya ethnic group in Myanmar on Facebook. This sustained online racist hate speech, amounting to discrimination, hostility and violence, t ook place ahead of and __________________ 18 19 20 21 22 25-16958 Submissions from Azerbaijan, 4Métrica, HRER, Centre for Truth and Justice, For Progress of Karabakh, FDI, HRLN, Franciscans International, Lithuania, the State of Palestine, Civil Rights Defenders, World Jewish Congress, and Atina Solutions. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general recommendations No. 35 (2013), para. 3. See A/HRC/49/46, para. 33. See A/78/538. Submission from Pixology Foundation. 7/21