Saving Sunil – a study of dangerous speech around a Facebook page dedicated to Sgt. Sunil Rathnayake

This study continues a critical examination by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) into online discourse, particularly over social media, around dangerous and hate speech. The report ‘LikingViolence: A Study of Hate Speech on Facebook in Sri Lanka’1 published in September 2014 was the first publication looking at this issue.

With online communication now the norm amongst youth; Facebook, Twitter and instant messaging such as WhatsApp have birthed a culture where individuals who share interests, views and opinions are able to interact with others beyond borders and continents, sans any social restrictions, forming in some cases movements and even new identity groups.

The power of such movements are not restricted to mere rhetoric and images displayed on a screen. These online expressions have the power to unite, organize and mobilize mass action as witnessed in Kenya and Egypt.As is evident in many online fora (which today includes groups created on and exchanges over mobile chat app like WhatsApp, WeChat and Facebook Messenger), the metamorphosis of a ‘just cause’ to ‘hate speech’ can be subtle or dramatic, fed by any number of motives ranging from personal grudges to phobia to national politics.

The growth and impact of online hate speech in Sri Lanka was evident in the findings of the abovementioned ‘Liking Violence’ study. Given that context, this study will examine how potent orsignificant the saving Sunil Facebook group is as an example of online hate speech and its effect, if any, as a catalyst for social mobilization