Capacities and Competencies in Dealing with Hate Speech and Hostility towards Science (CAPAZ)
The challenge of hostility towards science threatens not only the integrity of research, but also the social fabric of our society. Its effects manifest themselves in various ways. They range from threats and attacks to public defamation of researchers and scientific institutions. Rejecting scientific knowledge and expertise poses a serious danger to democratic governance. When science loses its voice, important issues disappear from the public agenda.
For this reason, the collaborative project Capacity and Competence in Dealing with Hate Speech and Hostility towards Science (CAPAZ) aims to provide new empirical evidence on the prevalence of hostile and derogatory behaviour towards scientists in Germany. It also develops institutional support and infrastructure to actively protect researchers from attacks online and offline.
Aims and services of the project network
Currently, there is a significant deficit in understanding the extent of hostility towards science in Germany and many other countries. Furthermore, at both the individual level for researchers and the institutional level for scientific institutions, there is a lack of effective resources, counter-strategies and measures to deal with these attacks. For this reason, the CAPAZ consortium is gathering a substantial knowledge base and comprehensive empirical evidence on scientific integrity. It will also strengthen institutional competencies and capacities to deal with hostility through practical support and educational resources.
Research
In this study, scientists are asked about their communication behaviour, their observations of hostility towards science and their experiences in dealing with science denial. It also focuses on the desired competencies and capacities for dealing with hostility towards science.
Practical Implementation
As a central point of contact, Scicomm-Support assists researchers and science communicators who have become victims of attacks in the course of their science communication. It also provides support to scientists and science communicators in the management of non-factual conflicts in science communication.
Benedikt Fecher, Dr.Associate Researcher & Former Head of Research Programme: Knowledge & Society
Nataliia SokolovskaHead of Research Programme: Knowledge & Society
Wolfgang Schulz, Prof. Dr.Research Director
Victoria Shennan
Museum für Naturkunde
Mhairi Stewart
Museum für Naturkunde
Project network
- Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) - Network coordinator
- Berlin School of Public Engagement and Open Science (BSOPE) at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin (MfN)
- Bundesverband Hochschulkommunikation (BV_HKOM)
- Freie Universität Berlin (FU)
- German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW)
- Leibniz-Institute for Media Research │ Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI)
- Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD)
Funding
| Term | 2023 - 2025 |
| Financing | VolkswagenStiftung |
