Beatriz Buarque is a Brazilian journalist and researcher who founded the British NGO, Words Heal the World, to empower young people to use their skills to challenge hate speech and tackle extremism.
Since 2017, undergraduate students from the UK and Latin America have produced a large variety of content, including two editions of the report, The Hate Map of Brazil. The innovative approach undertaken by Words Heal the World is internationally recognized. The NGO is the recipient of two international prizes: The Transcendence Award (granted by Michigan State University in 2019) and the prestigious Luxembourg Peace Prize (2020). After completing her Chevening Scholarship, Beatriz returned to Brazil and pursued a career in academia to continue her plight against hate speech on a theoretical level. Holding a doctoral studentship granted by the University of Manchester, she is investigating the legitimation of alt-right conspiracy theories in digital spaces. She also works as a graduate teaching assistant at King’s College London. Beatriz has been asked to give advice on topics related to hate speech and conspiracy theories by Facebook and she became an important figure against hate in Brazil, being interviewed by multiple newspapers.
The idea for Words Heal the World was born in 2015. The jihadist group ISIS were using sophisticated digital tools and discursive strategies to recruit thousands of vulnerable people. They were using words as weapons. As a journalist, it was this that motivated me to take action.
Words Heal the World is a tool to empower young people to use digital media to deconstruct extremist narratives. Through partnerships with universities, we empower young people to use their skills to engage responsibly with digital media platforms and cultivate critical thinking of what they see online.
Most people tend to associate extremism with political radical ideologies. At Words Heal the World, we consider extremism to mean every belief that incites hostile action towards a group based on its ethnicity, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or origin.
Our work against hate speech and extremism has been recognised by the Luxembourg Peace Prize. This is possibly my proudest achievement.
I’m not the only Chevener involved in Words Heal the World! It has been wonderful to work with a fellow Chevening Alumnus, James Gatica, who is the director of our Latin America division.
We have produced documentaries, organised events, published dozens of articles, and developed social media campaigns in support of students committed to tackling all types of extremism. Our report, Hate Map of Brazil, is aimed at encouraging local action against hate crimes in Brazil. The students who are part of Words Heal the World have already shown great potential in leading change.
Together, this activity is supporting students to develop strategies to tackle different types of extremism.
Today, the threat posed by far-right ideologies is much more serious than threats posed by extremist groups like ISIS. Far-right groups encourage hate towards far more diverse groups of people in ever more sophisticated ways. They know how to reach ever greater numbers of people across digital media platforms, and reach vulnerable people to persuade them of their views, despite regulations to restrain hate speech.
Attracting sponsors to fund our work will be critical in combatting this threat.
With funding, we’ll be able to build bridges between universities and high schools, to educate students from a younger age about hate speech and responsibly challenging the views they may come across online. We can recruit more students in the UK and scale-up our campaigns.
Together, we can effectively heal the world. Here at Words Heal the World, we are a family and we are ready to embark on this journey towards a peaceful society!
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