Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) held aconference titled, ‘Countering Digital Threats and Building Resilienceof Communities’ on Friday in Islamabad.
DRF’s conference addressed the lack of discourse relating to onlinefreedoms in the country particularly with the rise of hate speech anddisinformation against vulnerable and at-risk communities in Pakistan.The conference brought together experts from across the country with twopanels that highlighted DRF’s engagements and redressal mechanisms available in the country for at-risk communities in Pakistan.
The event started with welcome remarks by Seerat Khan Programs Lead atDRF in which she highlighted the particular vulnerabilities thatreligious minorities face in the country, especially with respect torising hate speech and disinformation. Nighat Dad, Executive Director at
Digital Rights Foundation also noted that “With the upcoming electionswe see how harmful content pertaining to religious minorities in thecountry is increasing, particularly (the elements of) disinformation andhate speech.
The rise in hate speech and disinformation will be even more rapid withthe use of AI and generative AI which is quite concerning. The ElectionCommission and government institutions need to address this and includehate speech in the code of conduct for political parties that the Commission is developing. Social media platforms also need to do more to address how hate speech and disinformation spread and the impact they have on at-risk communities in countries like Pakistan.”
In 2021, DRF conducted a research on “Religious Minorities in Online Spaces (2021),” addressing communities’ vulnerabilities to attacks, disinformation campaigns, harassment, and hate speech.
