TRUST USA: A Community-Based Early Warning and Early Response Mechanism to Prevent and Address Hate in USA

Mediators Beyond Borders, International, on behalf of the TRUST Network, proposes a $999,428 project to help communities understand, address, and heal from hate speech and hate crimes. Through its existing data collection and analysis platform, the TRUST Network (TN) has identified “corridors of hate,” particularly in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Alabama, where hate groups and hate crimes are prevalent and proliferating. The TN will identify 10 dispute resolution centers in cities along these corridors that are most impacted by hate and link them to the TN’s existing nation-wide Early Warning Early Response network. The TN will support those centers to undertake community listening sessions to build diverse local partnerships (religious organizations, police, city and state officials, schools, etc.) to map local resources and gaps for addressing hate incidents, and then train those centers to support their communities to report and respond to hate speech and hate crimes. The TN will also help these communities create and share tools and strategies for addressing hate, such as reporting protocols and de-escalation training. Underpinning all this local action, the TN will upgrade its existing nation-wide hate crime data collection and analysis platform. Specifically, it will work with the vendor to develop an AI based hate crime data analytics platform capable of participatory data collection, “scraping” digital trace data, dashboarding and analyzing data. This will create a robust data collection and analysis feedback loop. Communities will report incidents of hate speech or violence, as well as activities of hate groups, into the TN’s national data base. The TN will analyze trends and share information back with communities for advance warning about rising tensions. Communities will be able to adjust strategies and create more tools for preventive, responsive, and healing action. Deliverables include MOUs with 10 dispute resolution centers in “corridors of hate”; tools and strategies developed by communities to combat hate and promote community cohesion; AI-based analytical platform, EW bulletins, crowdsourced data; stakeholder mapping; data sharing agreements.