Rising number of hate crime cases on the internet
The Brandenburg police are recording increasing numbers of cases of hate crime on the internet. Compared to the previous year, an increase of around 20 percent is expected this year, the police headquarters announced on Thursday. In 2021, 118 cases were registered and 143 in the previous year. Specific figures for the current year were not initially available.
At a strategy conference entitled "Terrorgram Scene", police experts discussed right-wing hate speech on social media with representatives from the public prosecutor's office and the Ministry of the Interior.
"Terrorgram" is made up of the words "terror" and "Telegram": "It describes an internationally networked, youth-oriented scene of predominantly neo-fascist ideology that originally emerged primarily via Telegram channels," said the police. "The content of the "Terrorgram scene" is primarily violence-glorifying, racist narratives and heroizing depictions of assassins and attacks."
Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) emphasized that the fight against radical or even terrorist networks on the Internet should not only rest on the shoulders of the police. "Civil society is also called upon to become a kind of early warning system that intervenes before crimes are committed," he said. "Because even on the World Wide Web, every crime that is prevented is better than the one that is perfectly solved."
The rise in hate crime cases on the Internet has led to concerns about extremism, with the Brandenburg police identifying the "Terrorgram Scene" as a significant source. To combat this, Interior Minister Michael Stübgen emphasized the importance of civil society acting as an early warning system against Internet-based crime.
Source: www.dpa.com
