Every now and then, from one part of the planet, jumping out small experiments, often simple, however, they have the flavor of genius. Why link to mend the (alleged) distance between the digital world and the real ecosystem.

It is exactly the result earned by Virtual racism, real Consequences, a campaign against online racism set up by Criola, an organization for civil rights led by Afro-Brazilian women.

Operation is simple: with a monitoring of social networks, the group has collected racist comments and posts linked to a specific event, we tell below. Then, when available, used the geolocation information to understand as precisely as possible where they were published. In the end, thanks to an agreement with the managers of public advertising space, those of the famous 6 3, has put up posters with the content being played (hopefully) not too far from the house manager. The only care about privacy: face and accounts have been pixelated. But the message is all too clear.

The goal even further: encourage people to raise their voices. Especially in a country like Brazil, with nearly 8% of citizens of color and 43% of mixed ethnicity, the so-called leopard, with relatives or black ancestors. About public interventions of that type on the internet "he believes potersene feel comfortable in the comfort of their own homes and do what you want on the network - told the BBC Jurema Werneck, founder of Criola - do not let that happen. They can hide but we'll find them. "

The idea of the campaign, beyond the general climate of racism and laws against abuses that do not work, came after a popular color journalist and presenter of the news of weather Rede Globo, Maria Julia Coutinho, I have been targeted by insults and racist slander in the comments of a photo posted on the Facebook page of the program on 3 July. Ironically, just in the day against racial discrimination.

So, comments and tweets posted in the Brazilian cities are precisely those that relate to quell'aggressivo and disgraceful flame of last summer. A campaign is not huge, it is clear, and that also has a digital side, as you can see in which cities the signs have been posted and, therefore, where they came from insults.

The most interesting aspect is the fact that the debate has been triggered, since the past few months. Because maybe that's the ring upon which to insist, in Brazil as elsewhere: the tangible consequences. All discussions on internet rights, cyberbullying, the cyberrazzismo and cyber warfare should start from a premise: take out the cyber prefix. Because now the dimensions are intertwined, indeed overlap, and campaigns like those of Criola contribute, even symbolically, to break down the division between real and virtual that is now (almost) only theoretical.

From Wired