A/78/538 Rapporteur took part in the ninth session of the Group of Independent Eminent Experts on the Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. 7. The Special Rapporteur presented reports to the Human Rights Council for the first time in July 2023. She presented a report on trends in the glorification of Nazism, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 77/204 (A/78/302). She also presented her first thematic report to the Human Rights Council, in which she outlined her strategic vision and initial priorities (A/HRC/53/60). III. Online racist hate speech: a global phenomenon 8. The advent of multiple digital platforms with global reach, including social media platforms and communication applications, has caused a seismic shift in the way that people live their everyday lives, interact with oth ers and share information. 1 Information received by the Special Rapporteur suggests that over half of the world’s population uses social media. 2 While many positive benefits of these digital platforms for individuals and groups affected by racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance can be identified, 3 they also have the capacity to compound existing societal inequities, many of which exist along racial and ethnic grounds (A/HRC/44/57). 9. Social media sites and communication applications provide an unprecedented platform for the dissemination of different forms of communication and materials, such as text, images, animations, music and videos, often referred to as content. Much of the material shared online is innocuous. However, some materials constitute racist hate speech, with real, in the most serious cases, life-and-death consequences for targeted individuals and groups. 10. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur will present a working definition of online racist hate speech, describe manifestations of online racist hate speech, reference the nexus between hate speech and disinformation and misinformation and analyse some of the actors involved in the dissemination of online racist hate speech. Subsequently, the Special Rapporteur will express her concern about the rapid and wide-reaching spread of online racist hate speech and describe the negative consequences of the phenomenon. Defining online racist hate speech 11. While noting the lack of a specific and internationally agreed definition of online hate speech in human rights law treaties, the Special Rapporteur has drawn on elements in the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech and other international standards to suggest a working definition of online racist hate speech for the purpose of the present report. 12. The Special Rapporteur finds the way in which hate speech is understood in the United Nations Strategy on Hate Speech helpful. In the United Nations Strategy on Hate Speech, the term “hate speech” is understood as “any kind of communication in speech, writing or behaviour, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, colour, descent, gender or other identity factor”. The Special Rapporteur also refers to general recommendation __________________ 1 2 3 23-20290 Submission from Asociación por los Derechos Civiles. Matthew Woodward, “Social media user statistics: how many people use social media?”, Search Logistics, 18 July 2023, cited in the submission from Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights Association. Submission from Guatemala. 5/22