We-gital Heroes, launched in March 2022, was a two-year project that aimed to establish a digital platform for youth capacity building, mentoring, and collaborative development of social media campaigns targeting online dangerous speech. The project was funded under the FHI 360-led Networks for Peace’s Pillar 2 – piloting innovations to address dangerous speech and amplify positive narratives. Networks for Peace is a five-year activity funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Context
Over the past decade, Sri Lanka has experienced varying levels of violence and dangerous hate speech resulting from the deep ethnic and religious divisions that remain after the civil war. Although social media platforms such as Facebook intensified their efforts to identify dangerous speech online, limited resources to understand the nuances within local languages are cleverly abused by hate-filled posts to escape censorship. Algorithms effectively steer hate messages to a larger number of social media users, influencing the perspectives and attitudes of users, particularly young and impressionable people who have limited social experience and exposure. While a number of civil society organizations have organized campaigns, these rarely achieve the reach or traction that mis/disinformation posts generate. In addition, the sustainability of youth engagement has become challenging as there is a lack of organized and coordinated youth-led groups that work on addressing dangerous speech and mis/disinformation.
Search has been taking various initiatives in tackling online hate speech in Sri Lanka, such as the WT2: Work Together Win Together (commonly known in its shorter form as We Lanka project), implemented in two phases from December 2018 to June 2021, and the Cyber Guardians: Empowering Youth to Combat Online Hate Speech in Sri Lanka project from: 1st March 2019 – 29th February 2020. We-gital Heroes builds upon such projects, through utilizing the 3-C approach of content creation, countering, and championing, while combining this with new approaches of digital edutainment, mentorship, a collective group approach, and regional expansion to engage in peacebuilding work.
Theory of Change
IF a digital learning, networking, mentorship, and professional development platform for youth interested in addressing online dangerous speech is developed AND ample support is given to youths to collaboratively design and implement social media counter and positive messaging campaigns AND the collaboration, learning, and sharing among a regional community of practitioners countering dangerous speech is enhanced THEN youths are empowered to address drivers of dangerous speech and developed coordinated and effective responses to counter online dangerous speech.
Core Objectives and Activities
We-gital Heroes empowered youth to address drivers of dangerous speech and developed coordinated and effective responses to counter online dangerous speech. This was achieved through establishing a digital learning, networking, mentorship, and professional development platform for youth interested in addressing online dangerous speech, and supporting them to collaboratively design and implement social media counter and positive messaging campaigns to address such speeches, while enhancing collaboration, learning, and sharing among a regional community of practitioners countering dangerous speech.
Search’s activities and impact
- Search developed the Wegital Heroes Learning Management System (LMS), an online digital learning, networking, mentorship, and professional development platform for youth to strengthen their capacity in countering dangerous speech. With holistic features that facilitate peer discussion, collective learning space, forums, and content sharing, the LMS was accessed by 1,149 unique users and received positive feedback.
“It was easy to access. A straightforward, simple, and efficient way to learn. Overall a fun learning experience. It was fun and interesting and I wanted to continue rather than quit. I think the idea, and the execution were perfect. As a person who encourages non-traditional ways of learning, I think this is brilliant. When delivering these social issues in a manner that reaches the maximum audience is hard. I think this is the best way to convey these topics.” – Youth LMS user
- Trained 365 youths to counter dangerous speech, with 97% of them demonstrating their strengthened capacity. Among the youth participants, 58% of them (215 of 365) were women or from marginalized communities.
- Supported the development and implementation of 12 youth-led initiatives to counter online dangerous speech. The initiatives tackled various forms of dangerous speech, through the themes of AI use and information/image manipulation, identity-based experiences, online fraud, disabilities and resilience, online security, and responsible online engagement, etc. The 12 initiatives had different levels of reach and engagement with some reaching over 13,000 views and over 200 engagements.
Success Story of Team EXCELLENT in Transgender Awareness Video Production.
The EXCELLENT team was one of the We-gital Heroes teams who were selected to produce one of the 12 initiatives to counter online dangerous speech. The team chose to tackle transgender awareness, with the aim of changing at least 10 people’s negative perceptions of the transgender community to a more positive outlook. The video, which was published on Facebook, garnered 8,800 views and 59 shares by November 2023. Reactions from viewers predominantly expressed positivity, manifesting as likes and love emoticons, reflecting a sentiment of support and appreciation for the content.
