Análisis del contenido racista en la red social facebook

Abstract

Racism and discrimination continue to be a serious problem for the most vulnerable groups in society like the indigenous group and Afro-Ecuadorians; despite the changes in the Constitution and the fact that the principles of equality and non-discrimination are enclosed in the international instruments of human rights. Their practices not only violate people and nationality’s rights but also restrict the development of individuals. The constitution of the Republic of Ecuador states that all people must be treated equally without any distinction of race, gender or social condition. In spite of the existence of this legal framework in which the so-called minorities are protected, its terms are not carried out in daily practice for various reasons, amongst others, because indigenous people have historically been considered "inferior" and destined for unworthy jobs, a conception that is being dragged from the times of Conquest and Colony, and also because content generated in social networks violates the human rights of this population without any control, and those who must act are the users themselves, eliminating messages loaded with hate. Thus, with the use of these new communication and information technologies, and social networks such as Facebook, this problem has spread out so much that information is always accessed, and both, social networks and virtual platforms, have become a part of social life, being inevitable not to consume information that flows through them. Racism and discrimination are communicative practices that have always been at large, but today, they threaten society directly. This work focuses on social networks, and specifically on Facebook as a virtual communication mass media that promotes the reproduction of racist and discriminatory content, while users are the ones who must find controls and ways to counter hate messages. Social networks, as spaces of communication without limits and no control, become places where rights are violated, pointed out and stigmatized, by simplifying everyone to do and say anything they want. The 14 public indigenous figures interviewed for this analysis asseverate this.