Interrupting racism in the age of algorithms

Over the past several years, I’ve had teachers from multiple K-12 schools contact me for help dealing with racism in their classrooms. They’re seeing surges in racist and hateful rhetoric, including the n-word.

Brandon had a racially motivated hate crime last summer, when Chinoso Onuke was assaulted. And this winter, school trustees heard more concerns about racism. Brandon is no anomaly — we are watching racism, violence, and hate unfold across Canada, the U.S. and recently in Minneapolis in particular.

What is going on? We used to assume that society was moving toward ever-greater tolerance, care and inclusion. Yet moments like this seem to challenge that assumption.

The reality is more nuanced. Generally, the younger generation is indeed more tolerant and inclusive, with more open-mindedness toward and experiences with diversity. It is true that we have come a long way from previous generations. However, progress does not mean arrival. Even though openness and inclusivity have expanded, these perspectives remain uneven and far from universal.

There are significant differences in perspectives on social issues (which makes sense — youth are not a monolith), and these differences are exacerbated when young people are marinated in extremism and hate online.

Social media, though it can be used for many positive things, also has a dark side, including recruitment into white supremacist and racist ideologies, co-ordinated violence, increasing rhetoric of violence and extremism, and radicalization of young people, especially young boys and men. Three-quarters of youth are encountering hateful content online.

Don’t dismiss this as the work of anonymous bots in distant data farms: online hate does not remain virtual, it spills into real-world harm and violence. In fact, researchers have started tracking sudden bursts of online hate so they can predict in-person attacks.

Here in Brandon, teachers have asked me how to counter the negative effects of social media. They want to know why kids are suddenly using the n-word again, and what to do about it. And they want to know how to teach kids how to respond when they’re being called names by adults at Superstore, at 7-Eleven, or out in the community.

It’s clear there is a problem, it’s getting worse, and Brandon is not exempt.

Racism, hate and violence aren’t ideas that fall from the sky (or from the internet) into the hearts of evil people. They’re more like muck that builds up over time in any of us. First, dehumanizing, ugly speech stops being shocking and becomes normalized. That’s one layer. Concerns are dismissed or ignored. Another layer. Truths are twisted, then rewritten and history is forgotten or erased. And so it goes. These are large-scale, public layers of muck.

Then, once stuck in the disorienting muck, personal circumstances like isolation, loneliness, economic stressors, mental health challenges or histories of trauma intensify internal pain. It’s easy to search something innocuous like, “why can’t I get a job?” and over the next weeks, be fed a steady stream of anti-immigrant, anti-government or nihilistic content.

These messages are compounded by profit-driven algorithms and developers, foreign influence networks that create AI-generated content to influence dissent and extremist groups using AI to spread false information and serve their own purposes.

Over time, mired in systemic muck and algorithmic nightmares, youth in particular find themselves struggling. This is not to say that perpetrators of violence are without blame. Accountability is important. But we must be willing to look honestly at the reality that young people are facing. Problems are rarely solved by pretending they aren’t there.

So what can be done? What are the shovels we can grab to start digging ourselves and our youth out of the muck? In my view, this requires a three-prong approach — individual, community and beyond.

First, at the individual level, fix your algorithm. When you see hate online, report it. Most platforms have reporting mechanisms. Beyond that, stop giving time and attention to hateful content. Even if you are countering the hate, engagement only expands its reach. Secondly, if you encounter hate in real life, stand up to it if you can, or report afterwards. Having accurate data helps build a strong response.

However, as individuals we can do more than just respond to hate. We can be proactive by building the kind of community in which we want to live. One of the best ways to do this is to use our time, energy and expertise in ways that build in-person connections. These also have the benefit of strengthening individual identities and stronger well-being. Building in-person connections through sports, clubs and similar programs mean that stereotypes and dehumanizing slurs are about your friend or your teammate and hate can’t take root.

If you’re a parent, encourage your kids to join programs that build in-person connections. Discuss what their algorithm is showing them and how, if necessary, to change it. If you’re a community member, think about volunteering for the city, at the YMCA, at Huddle or at many of the other great places in Brandon.

At the community level, we need to continue supporting robust media literacy, strong civic education, and we need city and community organizations to include hate and violence reduction as part of their mandates. And we need to support our schools.

Educators see the realities of young people and all the promises and pitfalls they encounter, and they are perfectly poised to respond to the current landscape of hate and violence. We need well-supported, well-funded educators and leaders who can identify warning signs and are trained to intervene.

Take action by attending school meetings or joining parent advisory councils. And ask your workplace about their anti-racism or violence reduction plans, by volunteering or donating to places that are taking action to combat racism, violence and hate, and by writing to politicians and leaders in the community.

At the national level, we need more education and resources to identify and repudiate propaganda, combat hate, strengthen media literacy and tighten legislation around AI-driven content.

Finally, find hope in creativity. When the world looks dark, creativity is inherently hopeful and helps us find our way.

Creativity gives us tools to resist violence and despair, to build community and to actively contribute to more just and better tomorrows for our youth today.

» Michelle Lam is a researcher at Brandon University who specializes in community-based education, anti-racism and social justice. She is also a Canada Research Chair in Rural Community-Based Education for Reconciliation.