Disability in the crosshairs of online hate speech. Prevention and intervention in the name of inclusivity and alternative storytelling

Hate language against diversity is particularly bloody on the WEB and among the targeted categories we find not only women, foreigners and homosexuals but also disabled people. According to a survey by Vox Diritti, in 2021 disability becomes the third most hated category on Twitter, with a percentage of hate messages of 16,43%. In these “virtual squares”, haters externalize their hatred, conforming to the masses, unable to accept an ever-changing scenario. We must respond to these attacks with alternative narratives, building narratives about ourselves and the world based on empathy and positivity, showing courage, practicing dissent and rejecting indifference, animated by a critical spirit. In the perspective of "words to love", this contribution describes the results of a research on the theme of incitement to online hatred conducted with teachers of several secondary schools in Calabria, with the aim of providing project proposals and concrete interventions in the name of inclusion.