United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, in a statement marking the 2026 International Day Against Hate Speech, characterized hate speech as ‘the first step on the road to dehumanization.’ He described it as a ‘tool of division’ used to target women, migrants, refugees, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, and numerous other minority groups for political gain.
Hate Speech Fueled by Artificial Intelligence
Guterres emphasized that in the digital age, hate speech is amplified by unregulated platforms and intensified by artificial intelligence, spreading faster than ever before. He stated that algorithms often reward anger and division, encouraging falsehoods for likes and disseminating violence for views. Online anonymity, he added, makes it difficult to hold perpetrators accountable.
Kalliopi Mingeirou, Head of the Ending Violence Against Women Section at UN-Women in New York, noted that rapid technological advancements facilitate the spread of hate speech and conservative, regressive views towards women shared online. Mingeirou expressed that the ecosystem known as the ‘manosphere’ can rapidly disseminate misogyny and opposition to gender equality and women’s rights, presenting it as normal or acceptable. While acknowledging that AI does not create misogyny, Mingeirou is convinced it exacerbates hatred against women. Abusers can now produce and spread ‘deepfakes,’ sexually explicit synthetic images, impersonations, and other forms of visual abuse more quickly, cheaply, and with less technical skill, she said.
The UN Secretary-General has long rejected the argument that taking sides on this issue violates freedom of expression. In response to the alarming rise of hate speech globally in 2019, he launched the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech. The strategy aims to coordinate efforts across the UN system to identify, prevent, and counter hate speech while respecting international human rights standards. Guterres asserts, ‘Freedom of expression must never be an excuse for harmful messages.’
More recently, the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity propose a vision for a world where global information flows are no longer dominated by a small group of companies based in a few countries. The principles call for individuals to have greater control over the media they consume, their online experiences, and how their personal data is used.
