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Cyberspace Hate Propaganda and Internet Censorship Essay

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Cyberhate - Hate Propaganda and Internet Censorship

The Internet is an ideal medium for hate groups, such as neo-Nazis, because of the mass exposure, inexpensiveness, uncensored nature and ease of publishing offered. The Internet allows hate groups to target a broad audience: impressionable children are the most vulnerable. Attempts at censorship fail because of the international nature of the Internet, and to a lesser extent, free speech contentions. Instead, the freedom of speech exercised by cyberhate groups can be applied by online anti-hate advocates to counter cyberhate.

Educating youth is the most important tool against cyberhate, however. Teaching children to be critical of content on the Internet implies that children …show more content…

Forceless statements such as "If these numbers are correct..." after describing that rising hate group numbers are difficult to discern also jeopardize credibility (2002, Kim). Kim's references are suspect as well: one third are from nonacademic sources such as CNN, ABC News, and Time magazine. A dependency on such partial sources is below the quality expected of university-level writing. The evidence provided in "Hate Propaganda" is obviously inadequate, and is weakened further by the style of the article.

Kim's writing style can be unsure and depreciating. The unsubstantiated observation that "Perhaps, the Internet might have been the greatest thing that ever happened to hate," [italics added] is weakly phrased, unsupported and left to be unquestioned by the reader (2002, Kim). As such, it does not reflect the soundness expected of a scholarly paper. However, the essay benefits from a linear form of argument that clearly describes the problem of hate on the Internet, how children are affected, the viability of censorship, and lastly, how free speech can effectively combat cyberhate. The paper is easily understood as a result. The tone of the

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