Integrity Watch has announced plans to launch a project intended to track hate speech or messages from politicians ahead of Liberia’s 2023 general election.

Development Diaries reports that the civil society organisation (CSO) made this known during a one-day interactive forum themed ‘Countering Hate Speech Tracking for a Peaceful 2023 General and Presidential Elections in Liberia’.

Speaking at the gathering, the organisation’s Executive Director, Harold Aidoo, said the initiative, with supported from the United Nations Peace Building Fund, seeks to ensure Liberia remains stable and peaceful before, during, and after the elections.

The spread of hate speech and misinformation in Liberia is worrying, especially at a time when the country is gearing up for a general election.

‘We hope that as we come from diverse backgrounds in civil society and the media, this represents an opportunity for all of us to contribute to having it develop so that at the end of these elections, we would have also said “we contributed to creating the body of knowledge that helps to make sure that ultimately we have a peaceful election and the outcome of the elections is certified and we all can claim the peace that we have”’.

While Liberia’s constitution guarantees freedom of speech, it is crucial that they desist from spreading hateful and inciting comments, especially as the country heads to the polls in October.

Photo source: Brittany Danisch