Image 2: A hate speech threat received by an activist documented by Justice Trust; the texts include satements such as, “The kalars are bad but what is worse is race traitor whores like you. Mark our words, we will kill those who work to destroy the race.” Image 3: Post by an account seemingly controlled by Ashin Wimala Bivuntha shared on August 9, 2015 warning readers of “cunning” Zaw Zaw Latt and the “stupid, fake, monk” and “ignorant bitches” supporting him Hate speech Content There is no universal definition of hate speech. The American Bar Association defines it as, “Speech that offends, threatens, or insults groups, based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or other traits.”51 Narrower definitions associate hate speech specifically with the incitement of violence.52 Harvard University’s Susan Benesch, who is one of the leading scholars on hate speech, coined the phrase “dangerous speech,” as examined in the context of mass violence, and identified it as, “Speech that has the potential to catalyze collective violence.”53 Her examination created a fairly simple framework to identify such speech and noted three framework components: “targeting a group of people, containing a call for action, and utilizing a dangerous speech hallmark. 54 55 Hallmarks of dangerous speech include comparing the targeted group to non-humans, as well as suggesting that they constitute a serious threat or that they are defiling a group’s integrity.56 In Myanmar, there is no shortage of outright hate speech directed against the Rohingya and other Muslim groups. This is especially true in unfiltered online discourse, where incitements to violence and deeply offensive and derogatory terms are common. However, even offline, various derogatory terms targeting Muslims are common in everyday speech, most notably kalar (a particularly derogatory term for Muslims), mus (a less derogatory term), and Bengali (a widely used term that is not strictly derogatory, but implies a lack of belonging in Myanmar). Many of these terms are regularly employed during violence. For example, a report by Physicians for Human Rights on the Meiktila riots in March 2013 included survivor testimonies recounting the mobs’ chanting of racially charged terms, containing phrases such as “kill the kalars” and “tanari!” (a derogatory phrase meaning “keep out” and used when referring to dogs).57 Similar language is common online. In one representative social media post alleging that local Buddhist Rakhine villagers were threatened by Muslims in Mrauk-u Township, commenters replied with hate speech including, “It’s time to kill all kalars,” “If they chop one Rakhine head, we will behead ten thousand kalars’ heads,” and “For the next generation, burn all Muslim villages nearby.”58 9