Media Awareness Network has just released a new guidebook, Responding to Online Hate (pdf), to assist educators, law enforcement representatives and community groups in countering hateful content on the internet.
The guide talks about dealing with content that sometimes contravenes federal and provincial Human Rights legislation and, in some cases, the Criminal Code of Canada.
A little while ago, I wrote that many people seem to grant online media an exemption for hate content that is illegal in print form, yet many of these same advocates supported the passage of anti-spam legislation that over-reaches and bans commercial electronic messages that are completely legal on paper.
Media Awareness Network has a wealth of resource materials available to assist teachers and parents in guiding thoughtful consumption of digital content for young people. Online hate is just one of the areas addressed by MNet, a Canadian non-profit organization that has worked to develop media literacy and digital literacy programs since its incorporation in 1996.