Campus Digest

Journalism professor authors hate speech reporting guide for UNESCO 

Thursday, 29 May 2025

{{currentSlide}} / 2
In Brussels posing with UNESCO representatives, Professor Cherian George (centre) unveils his work Covering Hate Speech: A Guide for Journalists.
In Covering Hate Speech: A Guide for Journalists, Professor Cherian George urges journalists to apply professional ethics and investigative journalism techniques to uncover hate campaigns as ongoing processes and complex systems, rather than isolated incidents.

 

Professor Cherian George from the Department of Journalism of the School of Communication has authored the Covering Hate Speech: A Guide for Journalists, commissioned by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This publication was launched during UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day celebrations on 6 May in Brussels, Belgium. This commission and publication demonstrate how HKBU scholars drive global impact beyond academia.

The guide has drawn on Professor George’s nearly 15 years of research into hate speech and its relationship with free speech. It is now available in English and Indonesian on the UNESCO’s digital library, with multilingual versions to follow.

Professor George said, “UNESCO’s invitation was an opportunity for me to translate my research into guidelines for the media.” He urged journalists to apply professional ethics and investigative journalism techniques — similar to those used in exposing systemic problems such as corruption, trafficking, and environmental pollution — to uncover hate campaigns as ongoing processes and complex systems, rather than isolated incidents.

Ms Ana Cristina Ruelas, UNESCO’s Senior Programme Specialist (Communication and Information), said: “This publication will serve as a vital resource for journalists and media organisations, enabling them to move beyond traditional reporting and use the power of journalism to combat hate campaigns.” She also noted that Professor George’s framework has significantly shaped UNESCO’s media development and training programmes.

Invited by UNESCO, Professor George will present his guide at the Global Media Forum, organised by Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle in Bonn this July, and the World Journalism Education Congress in San Francisco, USA, this August. In addition, he wrote a critical analysis of Asian hate speech law for the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Hate Speech.

To learn more about Professor Cherian George’s research on hate speech and the UNESCO guide, please visit the website of the School of Communication.