Latest news with #hate speech
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Scotland's national library removes gender-critical book after staff complaints
The National Library of Scotland (NLS) has removed a gender-critical book from an exhibition after staff complained. The library removed The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht, a collection of essays by feminists including JK Rowling about their fight against Nicola Sturgeon's gender self-ID laws. The book was selected to be included in a major exhibition celebrating the library's centenary. But Amina Shah, Scotland's national librarian and the NLS chief executive, decided to remove the book from the exhibition after coming under pressure from the library's LGBT+ staff network, who called it 'hate speech'. The network warned its inclusion would cause 'severe harm to staff' and said it would have 'no choice but to notify LGBT+ partners of the library's endorsement of the book', according to documents released under freedom of information (FoI). An equality impact assessment produced by the library warned the book could be 'perceived as harmful' and 'asserted increases in hate crime'. 'Anti-trans ideology' Concerns were also expressed that the NLS would be seen to endorse 'anti-trans ideology', despite the exhibition containing several other pro-trans titles, and that there would be a 'backlash from external partners'. In a statement, the NLS said the book would still be available to read in the library and the exhibition included 'a full list' of publications not selected for display. But the two women who edited the book wrote to Ms Shah accusing her of censorship and 'cowardice' for having 'capitulated to what we can only describe as threats from within the library to disrupt the centenary exhibition'. Lucy Hunter Blackburn, a policy analyst, and Susan Dalgety, a newspaper columnist, said the documents showed that 'you, and some of your senior colleagues, allowed activists on your staff to characterise the very existence of the book as harmful, hateful and akin to racism and homophobia'. 'By conceding to this internal lobbying, not only have you allowed this defamatory misrepresentation to go unchallenged, but you have in effect endorsed it. Surely, the role of the National Librarian is to ensure the library is a place where ideas, debate and discussion take place,' the pair said. 'Yet rather than treat this book as a book, you have allowed it to be treated as a dangerous object, not safe for public display in Scotland's national library.' Campaigners 'smeared' They noted that the women who contributed essays to the book included campaigners who won April's landmark Supreme Court ruling that trans women are not women under the Equality Act. 'These are women who have changed the course of politics not just in Scotland but in the UK, and who spoke up for many who felt less able to do so,' Ms Hunter Blackburn and Ms Dalgety said. 'All these women have been smeared and their words excluded from the exhibition by your decision.' They said the equality impact assessment was a 'fig leaf', meaning to conceal an embarrassment, and the FoI documents showed that the library 'has discriminated against this book purely for the position it takes on questions of sex and gender identity'. The library received 523 title nominations for the Dear Library exhibition, of which 200 were to go on public display. The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht received four nominations, with two normally enough to guarantee selection. An email sent on May 14 this year confirmed that the book 'will feature in the exhibition' and 'will be displayed alongside 200 other publicly-selected books'. Library chiefs said its inclusion was not an endorsement of its contents and reflected its ethos of 'welcoming people of all identities and beliefs'. But on the same day, a reply was sent stating that the staff LGBT+ network was 'disappointed' by the decision and accusing the book's authors of being 'explicitly exclusionary in nature'. 'Attack on women's rights' Another reply questioned what would have happened if the exhibition selection had included 'a non-fiction work advocating for racist, homophobic, or other discriminatory and exclusionary viewpoints'. The equality impact assessment was produced on May 21, warning that its inclusion 'could be seen as an endorsement of anti-trans ideology' and result in 'severe damage' to the library's reputation. However, it acknowledged that excluding the book 'could be regarded as an attack on women's rights and censorship of gender-critical ideology '. It also noted that the book 'is the only inclusion of pro-gender-critical content within the exhibition, whereas there is a large amount of content within the exhibition which platforms LGBT+ communities'. A report produced for the library's management team on May 27 said the staff network had threatened to inform the library's LGBT+ partners and the following day Ms Shah published a paper recommending the book be excluded. She said: 'This is not due to the content of the book itself or the views expressed, but to the potential impact on key stakeholders and the reputation of the library. There is a risk that they will withdraw their support for the exhibition and the centenary. On May 29, a staff member emailed a colleague stating that the book 'promotes hate speech to a particular group'. The same day Ms Shah met Sir Drummond Bone, the library's chairman, to discuss the matter. The following day she emailed colleagues stating: 'Drummond has agreed with my recommendation.' An NLS spokesman said: 'Anyone can visit our reading rooms and access this book as well as the 200 other titles that were not selected for display. A full list of those publications is available as part of the exhibition. 'Libraries are vital places where people can access all kinds of publications for free, and form their own opinions.'
Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Times
Free speech blow as national library bans book opposing gender self-ID
Scotland's national library banned a book about feminists' fight against Nicola Sturgeon's gender self-ID law after staff complained its contents were 'hate speech' comparable to racism. The National Library of Scotland (NLS) has been accused of a 'shameful' capitulation to censorship after it emerged that The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht, a collection of essays by gender-critical women, had been cut from a major exhibition celebrating the institution's centenary. Members of the public had been asked by the library, which promotes itself as a national forum for 'ideas, debate and discussion', to nominate books which had shaped their lives for inclusion in a ten-month public display intended as a 'love letter' to the power of reading. However, despite The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht receiving double the number of nominations necessary to guarantee inclusion in the Dear Library public display, Amina Shah, Scotland's national librarian and the NLS chief executive, decided not to include the book after a staff backlash.
CNA
3 days ago
- Sport
- CNA
CONMEBOL launches system to detect online abuse of players and clubs
South American soccer governing body CONMEBOL on Tuesday announced a system to detect racism, hate speech and abuse on social media directed at players, referees, clubs and others with the aim of taking action against the perpetrators. The system will be used starting with the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana continental club competitions, both of which begin later on Tuesday. CONMEBOL said the system, implemented in partnership with Signify Group, allows "threats to be identified in real time, abusive behaviour to be deterred and concrete action to be taken against those responsible."
Reuters
3 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
CONMEBOL launches system to detect online abuse of players and clubs
Aug 12 (Reuters) - South American soccer governing body CONMEBOL on Tuesday announced a system to detect racism, hate speech and abuse on social media directed at players, referees, clubs and others with the aim of taking action against the perpetrators. The system will be used starting with the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana continental club competitions, both of which begin later on Tuesday. CONMEBOL said the system, implemented in partnership with Signify Group, allows "threats to be identified in real time, abusive behaviour to be deterred and concrete action to be taken against those responsible." Actions against perpetrators may include account suspension, stadium access restrictions and reports to relevant authorities, CONMEBOL added.
News24
4 days ago
- Politics
- News24
‘Our president is not a racist': Kunene hits back at McKenzie critics amid podcast, X posts uproar
Suspended PA deputy rallies behind McKenzie, blasting racism claims as a ploy to distract from coloured community slurs. McKenzie orders Equality Court action over the Open Chats Podcast insult storm. Podcast outrage fuels fiery debate on where free speech ends and hate speech begins. Suspended Patriotic Alliance (PA) deputy president Kenny Kunene has held nothing back in defending the party's leader Gayton McKenzie, declaring that neither of them are racist. He has vowed that the party not be deterred and will pursue legal action over offensive remarks made about the coloured community on the Open Chats Podcast. In an X post, Kunene, who was suspended by McKenzie for a month from party political work and duties as MMC, said: I and all members of Patriotic Alliance know that our president is not a racist and we stand cement vas with pres. PA will proceed with the Equality Court case and other institutions to deal with the racist insults peddled on the podcast. Salute. Kenny Kunene Kunene's suspension came after he was found at the house of the alleged DJ Sumbody murder mastermind Katiso Molefe when he was arrested. Following calls by political parties for McKenzie to resign amid racism allegations, Kunene accused political opponents of trying to 'divert attention' from the podcast scandal by resurfacing his old 2011 posts, insisting they were not racist but rather observations about the exploitation of African foreign nationals by white-owned businesses. @GaytonMcK is unfairly attacked on old tweets of 2011 to divert attention from the insensitive and rude insults on coloured community in a podcast. His crime was to defend the coloured people and take action on those insensitive, rude and arrogant young people. I and all members… — Kenny Kunene (@Kenny_T_Kunene) August 9, 2025 When asked by another X user if he considered posts racist, Kunene replied: 'Yes, they are not racist.' He also painted a personal picture of McKenzie's background to drive home his defense: This man @GaytonMcK has never been, is not and will never be a racist. His mother is a South Sotho woman from Batho location in Mangaung, and his father is coloured. Even in prison he brought a team together made up of black, white, indian and coloured inmates. Your campaign, Tony Yengeni and your cronies, will never succeed. We see you. @OnsBaizaNie. Kenny Kunene The controversial episode of the Open Chats Podcast, which has since been edited to remove the offensive parts, featured a disturbing exchange among the hosts. During a conversation about racial stereotypes, the hosts made crude and damaging claims about coloured people, implying that intra-family sexual relations were common and linking this to mental illness. The clip, which spread quickly on social media, triggered widespread outrage. Though the podcast team apologised, claiming they did not intend to harm or disrespect, the backlash showed no signs of slowing. Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Mmapaseka Steve Letsike condemned the remarks, warning that platforms with mass reach cannot 'weaponise speech' under the guise of open dialogue. McKenzie promised a strong legal and political response, giving the SABC seven days to cancel the show and threatening to mobilise 10 000 – 20 000 of his party's supporters in protest. Realising that the podcast had actually been aired on a MultiChoice platform, in a video update posted on Facebook, McKenzie said that he had spoken to MultiChoice, which he said was 'disgusted' by the remarks and would not renew the podcast's contract. If coloured people made those remarks about any other race group, it would be front-page news. We must never allow people to become that comfortable with disrespecting us. Gayton McKenzie Kunene's defence of McKenzie comes as he faces his own legal woes. This as the Johannesburg High Court recently ruled that his 2021 description of EFF leader Julius Malema as a 'cockroach' was hate speech. Kunene is now required to apologise both in writing and orally to Malema. However, Kunene maintains his comments were provoked by repeated insults from Malema, who had called him a 'pantiti', and says he was merely responding in kind. The Open Chats Podcast fallout has reignited South Africa's debate on where free expression ends and hates speech begins. Both Letsike and McKenzie have stressed that new media platforms must be held to the same ethical standards as traditional broadcasters. As Letsike put it: 'We value freedom of expression, but it must be balanced with accountability. Hate speech is not to be equated to free speech. It can escalate into incitement, which is constitutionally prohibited.'
