Managing Online Extreme and Abusive Speech (AGORA) explores problematic cases of speech (hate speech, racism, homotransphobic discourse, Holocaust denialism, fake news etc.) on social media, and their implications for individual rights as well as for the democratic fabric of contemporary societies. It seeks to identify how extreme and abusive speech spreads on social media, explores the ways in which it negatively affects democratic societies, and aims to identify strategies for mitigating these negative impacts on individual rights and the democratic fabric of our societies. The need to analyse the phenomenon of online extreme and abusive speech, and to support national and EU institutions in elaborating policy and legislative strategies to countenance it, is the primary motivation for devising AGORA. AGORA proposes a comprehensive academic experience composed of teaching, research and dissemination activities, aimed at university students, professionals working in the relevant fields (law, journalism, human rights activism, civil service etc.), and the interested general public.

At its core is a study course (Extreme Speech and Digital Media) for future lawyers, human rights activists, and other interested (international) students that combines into a coherent structure legal studies, philosophy of language, linguistics, and sociology of communicative processes. In addition, AGORA will develop several ancillary activities (short courses, conferences, podcasts etc.), to promote critical discussion among different stakeholders on the limits of free speech in the digital sphere and, more broadly, on the impact of these phenomena for our democracies. The ultimate goal is to nurture activities that will allow participants (such as lawyers, journalists and NGOers) to continue their lifelong learning and, more broadly, to contribute to the development of the public’s know-how and capacity-building for active citizenship in the era of social media.

AGORA is part of an Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Chair held by Prof. Giorgio Pino at the University Roma Tre (Italy). Jean Monnet Chairs are designed to deepen teaching in EU studies embodied in the official curriculum of a higher education institution and to provide in-depth teaching on EU matters in areas increasingly in demand in the labour market. Jean Monnet Chairs are also encouraged to provide open educational resources and involve open education activities in their work to increase the flexibility and accessibility of learning.