Letters & Opinion

St. Lucia Must Address TV and Online Hatred

By James Stanislaus

THE fact that a number of unqualified individuals in St. Lucia have suddenly become talk show hosts does not augur well for any nation in today’s world. The reason being we are all deeply connected to a digital world where information both true and false travel at lightening speed.

The difficulty any administration faces today, is being able to communicate the facts without the contents being distorted and prematurely publicized. Today, confidential information can be processed and disseminated in our board rooms and inside the walls of government at lib. This behaviour places immense pressure on any administration or executive officers as the effects of confidentiality are washed down the drain.

In addition to this behaviour, we have a number of television and radio stations permitting the dissemination of distorted news and condoning violent behaviour on a daily basis by second grade activists.

Based on the current situation, European Police recently coordinated raids against online hate speech to clamp down on online hatred and incitement to violence. The matter has been taken so seriously, that some 83 apartments and other buildings were searched to seize evidence like smart phones and laptops.

Presently, 96 suspects are being questioned about hateful posts made online. The raids are part of an annual drive initiated by German prosecutors and joining this year for the first time are Italy, France, Greece, Norway, Britain and the Czech Republic under the co-ordination of Europe. We are unaware when such action is likely to take place in St. Lucia, but we certainly need to be guided by this decision as the situation will only grow worse if not addressed.

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