Hate speech in social networks and recognition of the other: The M. case

Abstract

This paper analyzes the sentence of first instance regarding the M. case, of a university student from Saõ Paulo who, by the end of 2010, published on Twitter a hate message against Northeastern people. With the analysis, we wish to identify which types of recognition of the other are present in the jurisdictional response and how they were developed by the judge; also, we aim to verify in the sentence the presence of differential elements that specifically address the circumstance of it being a case of hate speech transmitted by the web. Using the procedural method of case study, we elect Axel Honneth's writings on recognition theory as theoretical framework, employing documental and bibliographic research techniques. At the end of the study, we conclude that, despite its weaknesses, the sentence of the M. case constitutes an important responsive mark to hate speech in social networks in terms of law and solidarity, having addressed both parties involved (M. and Northeastern people) and society, and displaying attention to the peculiarities of new media.