Blog

After 18 months of work, the Online Hate Research and Education Project is wrapping up. While we knew this moment was coming since the day we joined the team, this is without a doubt a bittersweet moment.

Over the course of these 18 months, we worked tirelessly to offer deliverables which would fill gaps in anti-hate education in Canada. We designed an original research project, through which we collected and analyzed nearly 3000 different hateful memes published by Canadians in the last few years. We used the insights of our analysis to foster a greater awareness of the proliferation of hate on social media platforms. We engaged with teachers, students, public servants and elected officials in order to equip those at the frontlines of the fight against online hate with the proper tools. Lastly, we synthetized our research into two reports. The first one, which looks at the weaponization of the memory of the Holocaust on social media, was published back in January. Today, we are publishing a second one, which shares insights from the totality of our data set, with information regarding the most prominent tropes levelled against various communities, as well as about those targeting them. We hope these resources prove useful to educators, lawmakers, researchers and journalists endeavouring to address the pressing issue of rising hate.

While our team is moving towards new opportunities, our work will live on. In recent weeks, we worked with teachers to develop lesson plans, soon to be rolled out, which should ensure that our research continues to promote anti-hate education long passed our tenure. We also hope to be able to continue updating this website with some frequency, in order to keep it as relevant a resource as possible.

In the meantime, our incredible colleagues at the Holocaust Education Centre are also working around the clock to prepare the launch of the Toronto Holocaust Museum, which is set to open to the public in June 2023. Words cannot express how thankful we are for their continued support for our work, and for giving us the opportunity to contribute to their important mission to keep the memory of Holocaust survivors alive in an increasingly uncertain era. We hope you'll make the time to pay them a visit, and to thank them on our behalf.

Thank you to everyone who supported our work throughout this project. We are, and always will be, eternally grateful for your interest and your feedback.

- Étienne and Dan from the OHREP/Hatepedia team.