Hassan Jabran, Director of the National Reconciliation Department at the National Authority for Transitional Justice, affirmed that confronting hate speech and curbing its escalation cannot be achieved through slogans alone, but requires strict measures that entrench the values of justice and the rule of law.
Jabran clarified in a statement to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on Wednesday that the sense of grievance felt by certain groups creates an incubating environment for the escalation of such speech, noting that it recedes with the improvement of good governance indicators and the delivery of high-level developmental performance that heals societal wounds.
Legitimate Criticism and Incitement
Regarding the boundary between constructive criticism and incitement, Jabran pointed out that many critical discourses fall under the term "a word of truth intended for a false purpose," explaining that criticism often conceals systematic incitement and deliberate deception.
The Director of the National Reconciliation Department explained that indicators of this deviation manifest in criticism turning into sharp and baseless attacks without offering practical alternatives, or being directed through digital platforms to stir emotions and provoke psychological animosity in the absence of evidence.
Jabran added that the emergence of these indicators confirms the crossing of the boundaries of legitimate criticism and sliding into the quagmire of incitement and deception, tampering with the minds of ordinary people and attempting to ignite the flames of fitna and fragment the social fabric.
Citizen Participation and Oversight
Jabran stressed that a participatory approach and involving citizens in decision-making come at the forefront of mechanisms to enhance responsible expression, noting that this places them before their direct responsibilities while guaranteeing the right to access information.
He reiterated the structural interdependence between freedom and responsibility, stating that raising a generation of free people means building a generation that possesses the highest degrees of responsibility towards words and their dimensions.
He also expressed his firm rejection of imposing oversight or prior censorship on media content, calling for a pluralistic media environment governed by a professional code of conduct aimed at regulating the ethics of expressing opinions.
For his part, the Ministry of Media, in cooperation with the Syrian Media Academy and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), concluded today the activities of the project "Enhancing National Media Capacities to Confront Hate Speech and Build Peace in Syria."
The project included 35 training programs benefiting more than 775 trainees across nine governorates, and the three parties launched the "Words Build" campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of hate speech and misleading rumors.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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