Comic book Hate Speech on Hippos

The narrative of the comic begins with the phrase “Hippos are not animals, but non-beasts!”, which makes “the blood in the hippo’s veins boil with resentment and indignation.”

The storyline then unfolds with the growing hostility between hippos and hippopotamuses, escalating according to all the laws of drama into an open conflict. The authors draw an analogy between these cloven-hoofed mammals at odds and people who discriminate against others because of minor differences.

The fable’s authors, Violetta Ermakova and Aleh Razhkou — journalists and international experts on hate speech — call for resisting hate speech without relying on legal bans.

“Hate Speech on Hippos” answers questions such as: “Can hate speech simply be banned?”, “Why should I respond to hate speech?”, and “What can I do?”

Aleh Razhkou, head of the human rights initiative “Journalists for Tolerance”, emphasizes: “Hate speech is a complex concept, approached differently by sociologists, human rights defenders and lawyers. There are many definitions of what it is, and none of them is universal. In the comic, we tried to combine several approaches through vivid examples so that everyone can form their own understanding of what hate speech is and why it is dangerous for society.”

The comic will be useful for journalists and bloggers in their writing. Activists will learn how to respond to verbal aggression and stop it. Lawyers will be interested in where exactly the boundary lies after which restrictions on freedom of expression should apply.

The downloadable version is available in Russian.