After the anouncement that Oslo’s deputy mayor Kamzy Gunaratnam would chair the May 17 th committee in 2018, it was stated that an “ethnic Norwegian, with a chronic Norwegian background” would have been more suitable. In 2017, Sumaya Jirde Ali was called “the devil’s black offspring”, and the comments on social media encouraged people to spill petrol and set her on fire. When politician and parliamentary representative Lan Marie Berg (MDG) stated that she “loved the toll ring” in 2019, it was stated that one should put a bounty on her or hit her with a car. Trans woman Christine Jentoft was told that she could not be a woman, and therefore not a mother, when she participated in Debatten this spring.

Hate is flourishing online, especially in cases where minorities, women, environmental activists and young people speak out. Young people who get involved in the public debate are called ignorant and asked to shut up. Unicef Norway has spoken up about the growing tendencies of harassment and bullying of children and young people by adults on social media. Trends like this make it more difficult for people to get involved in politics, and young people who write their first posts have found themselves forced to participate less or completely withdraw from the public debate.

What makes adults showcase their hatred through social media, and write hateful and derogatory comments about those who speak out in public? How do we face this growing fury online? And what will be the consequence of minorities and young people withdrawing from the public discourse? 

At this debate, we meet brave public debaters and politicians for a conversation about what we all wonder; can trolls be tamed?

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