Bad news: hate speech, social media and mental health (178, Oct 2017)

It’s a question for the times we’re in. From the publication of hate speech and the promotion of hot-air controversialists, to the use of technology and social media to draw us into an addictive diet of endless news consumption, are news organisations actually hurting their readers?

What readers consume – and how they consume it – can have tangible effects on their well-being. This discussion looks at how the media affects readers’ mental health, what responsibility news organisations and journalists need to take for that and what we might need to change.

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The panelists: Peter Feeney (Press Ombudsman of Ireland and formerly head of broadcast compliance at RTÉ and editor of current affairs television at RTÉ), Sahar Ali (spoken-word poet and comedian whose recent Dublin Fringe Show, Saharcasm, explored Irishish, Arabism and racism in contemporary Ireland), Diarmaid Mac Aonghusa (managing director of web and app development company Fusio), Paloma Viejo Otero (PhD student at Dublin City University researching hate speech and social media) and Lois Kapila (founder and managing editor of Dublin Inquirer)

The details: this event takes place at DIT, Aungier St., Dublin 2 on Thursday October 19 at 6.30pm Admission is free but spaces are limited and tickets should to be reserved in advance via this link.

This event is presented by Dublin Inquirer and Banter in association with the Centre for Critical Media Literacy at DIT. Early bird tickets were available exclusively for Dublin Inquirer subscribers – you can subscribe and support the best publication about living and working in the capital here.