Social media: P&T minister launches campaign to boost fight against hate speech.

The campaign is under the theme: “No to hate speech and subliminal messages”. 

The minister said the campaign is organised by the association for the rehabilitation of refugees, youth and women, known by its French language acronym ARREF.

In attendance were the Secretary General of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Mohamadou Saoudi, and the President of ARREF, Dr Fioko Marthe epse Oloume, among others.

The event featured a discussion on the influence of hate speech and subliminal messages in building a peaceful society, the role of the media, influencers and politicians in the spread of hate speech. There was also an exchange on national and international legislation against hate speech.

Minister Libom Likeng lauded ARREF for taking the bold move to introduce and lead the initiative. She said the program falls in line with the national campaign launched by the government six years ago on the responsible use of social media.

She said Cameroon “…is looking to make away with hate speech”, underscoring that the drive “…will allow us to raise awareness, to reach a greater number of people in tackling this phenomenon”.

The member of government added that the scheme will enable stakeholders to “…further educate people, because often they do not know how cybercriminals, as they are sometimes called by their name, use language, signs, apparently innocent messages to spread these toxic messages that harm living together”.

Organisation promises to deliver 

The President of ARREF, Dr Fioko Marthe epse Oloume, assured the minister that the association will align its field work with government prerogatives.

Dr Fioko said ARREF will partner with traditional, religious and other institutions to reach members of the public.

On the place of families in the drive, she said “…we know that parents play a very important role in the education of children, and that these children must be educated, not only by teachers, but by their parents… sufficiently on the consequences of hate speech”.

She said will borrow a leaf from institutions such as the Cameroon National Prayer Breakfast when it effectively kicks off the exercise in Tibati in the Adamawa Region and Bertoua in the East Region.

“The peculiarity of this concept is that you will not easily find the Ewondo or Bulu languages, but we will go, for example, to the South and choose to work with that language that is not known nationally but understood properly by the locals,” Dr Fioko stated. 

He warned that “hate speech is more than a harm. It is more than a cancer and HIV. The consequences are unprecedented and very devastating”. 

On this score, she said the crusade seeks to “fight against it and to promote cohesion, consideration, to live together in harmony”.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3560 of Wednesday September 10, 2025