Comedy can defuse the hatred on social media, says Harith

PETALING JAYA: Celebrities are also targets for political hate speech that has become prevalent on social media, and comedian Harith Iskander has not been spared either.

True to his calling, though, he believes that laughter is a cure for this particular ill.

Harith experienced the hatred firsthand when he uploaded a picture of himself and his wife with the Prime Minister’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

He said he does not think there is an upsurge in hate speech, but social media has made it easier for people to make spiteful remarks.

Harith said there are loud “noises” in social media because of the freedom of information.

“As you know, the people with the loudest voices are usually the ones who have the least to say, and it is usually unconstructive,” he said.

Harith said comedy is one way to defuse the hatred.

“Comedy is a great way to get people of different beliefs and points of view in one room and have them laugh together.

“We all need to take a chill pill and discuss things constructively – especially on social media,” he said.

Harith added that people are allowed to have different opinions without having to hate each other.

“Our society acts in a way that is still relatively immature when it comes to political discussion sometimes.

“We don’t seem to be able to disagree without ending up in name-calling and throwing derogatory, inflammatory remarks,” he said.

He added that there were people who do not express their criticism in a mature manner, choosing instead to “jump on the hate bandwagon”.

“It is made even simpler with preset emojis for those who can’t be bothered to express themselves in words,” he said.

There have been other recent instances when celebrities became the target of hateful remarks.

Jazz singer Datuk Sheila Majid experienced a backlash when she took to Twitter to lament about the high cost of living and the weak ringgit.

Actress Nur Fathia Latiff also faced a storm of angry comments after a tweet that defended former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.