Recommendations Micro activism

It's good to be curious, but do not ask personal or private questions based on your assumptions about the person's culture, ability, gender or backgrounds based on their appearance. Google to learn more!

If you see cyber hate happening and it falls into the category of hate speech it means you can report the crime, whether you belong to the group being exposed or not. Crimes with hate crime motives need to be reported by the the person who is subjected to them but anyone can report hate speech. So if you see someone committing hate speech on the internet, in a comment, a status update, in a private group, etc., and you are not a part of the group that is covered by hate crime legislation, you can still report the crime!

What is hate speech?

Guide: Report hate speech

If you read offensive and inappropriate posts or comments on social media, you can always report this to the administrators

When someone shares an article on Facebook, you can click on the i-symbol to the right and “Show more information about this link”. You will then receive information about the website/news page that is linked.

If you see advertisements in your feed - click on the three dots at the upper right of the advertisement and select "Why am I seeing this?" to get more information about why Facebook decided to show you the ad, and who might have paid for the advertisement.

Guide: How to respond to a dogmatist

Think about the last time someone had prejudices, preconceived notions, or thought that they knew something about you – how did it make you feel? Be aware and do not subject other people to similar treatment. People who are exotified experience this almost on a daily basis, and it is tiring.

Think about who you are and what privileges this leads to in relation to people who are often subjected to exotification, i.e. ethnic minorities, people who are racialized as non-white, people with disabilities, trans people or other LGBTQ+ people.

Just because you do not have the knowledge or you want to know more about people who are exotified because its exciting or interesting, you do not have the right to demand answers about their lives or their background, or pressure them to explain more about the group that you are categorizing them in. Google instead!

Guide: Backing up a colleague or an active member of your organization

You're not alone. If you want help dealing with cyber hate in the comment section, contact the facebook group #jagärhär to get help and support from the good forces at work for a good and open internet climate.

#jagärhär's facebook page 

How to respond to an internet troll

Go into hateful comment sections and report or respond to offensive comments.

Cut out parts of the text, put them in quotation marks ("like this") and search for them in google to find if the text has been posted anywhere else.

Don't give people compliments based on physical attributes. Just like how no one with breasts ever likes to hear "nice breasts" from a total stranger, people who often experience exotification don't like to hear comments on their bodies, disabilities, skin tone, hair or style – even if your intentions are good.

Cisnormativity is the assumption that there are two genders (woman and man) and that everyone identifies with the gender that they were assigned at birth. Don't assume people's gender. Instead, ask for their pronouns.

If someone points out that you have exotified them, do not become defensive. Listen, accept the criticism, and apologize. Do not excuse the situation and do not try to convince the person that you didn't mean any harm. Being defensive and in denial only makes it more difficult to save the relationship or move on from the situation.

As a member of an organization or an association, they have the responsibility for you and the cyber hate that can occur as a result of the membership. If they don't have action plans for the internet, they should deal with that right away.

Organizations can get help with this work 

If you aren't heard, there is support and help to continue this process 

If you see that mean or critical things are being written about a person you know – don't tag that person in the comment section. If you think that the person isn't aware that they're being written about, tell them privately.

Find out which situations and at what time the picture has appeared.

Guide: How to find the source of images 

The first step can be giving them a supportive "like", but it is always good to point out unpleasant behaviour. Sometimes, the important thing is not what you say, but that you say something.

If you want to know who owns a website, there are services to help. Foreign URLs can be found at http://www.whois.com. Swedish URLs (those ending in .se or .nu) can be found at http://www.iis.se.

Guide: How to be source critical

Källkritikbyrån (the source criticism agency) is a website and a project aiming at helping people to become more confident and aware online users. Here, you can find inspiration and facts about source criticism on the Internet. The website contains insights related to source criticism and guides on what you can do in different situations.