WeCounterHate
AWARDS
Gold Effie, Grand Effie Contender, 6 Gold National ADDYs,People’s and Judge’s Choice, Shorty Social Good Award, Fast Company InnovationDesign Finalist, (4) Regional Gold ADDYs, Judge’s Choice ADDY Award
Project Description
How do you stop hate in its tracks — and flip it into something good? That was the challenge at the heart of WeCounterHate, an AI-driven platform built to fight hate speech on Twitter by turning every toxic retweet into a donation to an anti-hate nonprofit. It didn’t just make people think twice — it made hate unprofitable.
ROLE
Executive Creative Director, Strategy, Art Direction, Moderation
The Challenge
We wanted a way to address the explosion of hate speech on social media but without feeding the algorithm or giving hate more oxygen. We needed a solution that could disrupt the spread and support the mission. LifeAfter Hate is a nonprofit helping people leave violent extremist groups and rebuild with compassion, so it was a perfect match for the idea.
The Challenge
We wanted a way to address the explosion of hate speech on social media but without feeding the algorithm or giving hate more oxygen. We needed a solution that could disrupt the spread and support the mission. LifeAfter Hate is a nonprofit helping people leave violent extremist groups and rebuild with compassion, so it was a perfect match for the idea.
The Solution
What if you could make hate speech pay… literally? WeCounterHate flipped social media into a social contract. Using AI and human moderation, we scanned Twitter for hate speech and replied with a bold warning:
“If you retweet this, a donation will be made to an anti-hate organization in your name.”
No lectures. No soapbox. Just consequence. Suddenly, trolls had skin in the game and became accidental donors to the very causes they mocked.
The AI-powered tool was built in partnership with former extremists, including ex–Neo-Nazis, skinheads, and members of Aryan Nation. They helped us train the system to detect coded and concealed hate speech. It was fed thousands of examples and closely monitored by human moderators. In real time, we intercepted hate at the point of amplification by using social pressure and transparency as catalysts for behavioral change.
The Summary
What if you could make hate speech pay… literally? WeCounterHate flipped social media into a social contract. Using AI and human moderation, we scanned Twitter for hate speech and replied with a bold warning:
“If you retweet this, a donation will be made to an anti-hate organization in your name.”
No lectures. No soapbox. Just consequence. Suddenly, trolls had skin in the game and became accidental donors to the very causes they mocked.
The AI-powered tool was built in partnership with former extremists, including ex–Neo-Nazis, skinheads, and members of Aryan Nation. They helped us train the system to detect coded and concealed hate speech. It was fed thousands of examples and closely monitored by human moderators. In real time, we intercepted hate at the point of amplification by using social pressure and transparency as catalysts for behavioral change.
No items found.
The Solution
What if you could make hate speech pay… literally? WeCounterHate flipped social media into a social contract. Using AI and human moderation, we scanned Twitter for hate speech and replied with a bold warning:
“If you retweet this, a donation will be made to an anti-hate organization in your name.”
No lectures. No soapbox. Just consequence. Suddenly, trolls had skin in the game and became accidental donors to the very causes they mocked.
The AI-powered tool was built in partnership with former extremists, including ex–Neo-Nazis, skinheads, and members of Aryan Nation. They helped us train the system to detect coded and concealed hate speech. It was fed thousands of examples and closely monitored by human moderators. In real time, we intercepted hate at the point of amplification by using social pressure and transparency as catalysts for behavioral change.
The Results
The campaign reduced retweets of hate speech by 64%. Not by shouting louder, but by flipping the rules. We removed over 60 million impressions of hate from the platform, all while funding a nonprofit that helps people leave extremist movements behind.
We didn’t just stop hate from spreading, we made sure love had the last word. And in an internet full of racist rage, that’s a big deal.
