Hate speech appears from time to time on Internet sites, although this is a violation of journalistic standards.

Article 15 of the Ukrainian journalist’s Code of Ethics states that no one can be discriminated on the basis of their gender, language, race, religion, national, regional or social origin, or political preferences.

On the website of the newspaper “Visnyk.K” there is a news item with the headline “Will the Homeless, Gypsies and Illegal Trade Be Removed from the Bus Station in Lutsk?”. Later, the text operates with the notion “Roma”, although the title could have used this word instead of “Gypsies.” Also, the headline contains a negative wording that the “Gypsies” will be removed, as if all Roma must be removed somewhere.

In hate speech, there is an emphasis on the criminalization of a certain group of people or nationality. For example, on the website “Volynsky Novyny” in the text entitled “In Lutsk, a Georgian Committed a Double Traffic Accident, Damaging AUDI and LAND ROVER Crossovers.” In fact, it does not matter what nationality the man is who committed the accident.

 It is also wrong to call something a threat that it is not. For example, on the Volyn News Service website there is a reprint of a news item from the website of the Volyn Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine with the title “Threat of Anglicization: Metropolitan Mykhailo was Outraged by Signboards in English in Lutsk.”

It is better for the media not to spread hate speech, because the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides liability for violations of the equality of citizens depending on their racial, national, regional affiliation, religious beliefs, disability and on other grounds.