Gov. Hochul planning social media program for schools to combat online hate

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday that she wants to have schools teach lessons on identifying and combating hate speech in social media as part of a stepped-up effort to thwart a surge in online threats since the Israel-Hamas war  began last month. 

“We know that social media is an emotion amplifier,” Hochul said. “If the emotion is hate and that’s amplified, that’s the chaos we are falling into today.”

Hochul said threats and hate messages against Jews and Muslims increased by more than 400% each in October. But she said threats online and elsewhere also have ramped up from Nazi sympathizers, jihadists, white supremacists and against women.

Jackie Bray, commissioner of the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, said there are no “credible threats” in New York State and that while security has increased around the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, there are no specific threats to the traditional event.

To combat online hate in the longer term, the administration is developing a “media literacy” program that the governor said will be used in schools next year. The course will help students in kindergarten through 12th grade identify reliable sources of information online, identify and avoid hate speech and threats, and avoid becoming radicalized by hate groups. The lessons also will include how to recognize signals that a classmate may be becoming radicalized.

The content will be developed by the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services with education experts in media literacy. The program would “encourage critical thinking and create a better understanding of how media systems work” as more young people get their news and information online.

Hochul is expected to provide more details on the school program in her State of the State speech in January.

Although Hochul can't direct state education policy — that's the job of the Board of Regents chosen by the State Legislature — governors have often used their budget authority in negotiations with legislative leaders as leverage to achieve policy gains.

There was no immediate comment from the Democratic majorities of the Senate and Assembly. The state Education Department wasn't told about the proposal and had no comment, a spokeswoman said.

In the State Assembly, there are two active bills sponsored by Assemb. Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) proposing similar measures. One would create a “set of media literacy standards” for kindergarten through 12th grade and another would appoint a media literacy advisory group to study the teaching of media literacy and to survey schools on what’s being taught now.

The bills haven’t moved out of Assembly’s Education Committee since January and there are no companion bills in the Senate.

On Tuesday, Hochul also announced $3 million would be released to expand the Threat Assessment and Management Teams, which use experts in behavior and social media to provide training and support to colleges statewide. The teams are monitoring dozens of cases of threats and will act with law enforcement to attempt to thwart any violence, Hochul said.

Hochul said the increased surveillance of online messaging won’t be used to stifle political speech, or criticism of the Israeli government or Palestinians. 

“We are not here to police thought,” Hochul said. “We’re not blocking anyone from political speech.”

The governor also made a plea to parents.

“As a mom, I know as we approach this holiday season, Thanksgiving, it offers a meaningful and sometimes rare opportunity to gather everyone around the table, your children … (including) high school students, college kids who may be home for the first time since they left you in August,” Hochul said. “I encourage you to talk to your kids, not just about the rise in hate, but listen to them, too.

“Explain to your children the difference between disagreeing on a policy that a government may take and displaying hate toward an entire group of innocent people. There is a difference.”

Assembly Republican leader Will Barclay of Pulaski also said tension in the Middle East hits home this holiday season.

“When my family sits down for the holidays, I can’t guarantee ‘the rise in hate’ is going to be a topic of discussion,” Barclay said. “I do appreciate what the governor is trying to convey. As a parent, you never stop teaching or learning.”

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.