CNN logo Navigation Infoseek/Big Yellow Pathfinder/Warner Bros Barnes and Noble Main banner Click here to see the Q phone from QUALCOMM, the highest evolution of digital. rule CIVIL RIGHTS WEB SITE TO FIGHT CYBERHATE CivilRights.org November 24, 1997 Web posted at: 6:01 p.m. EST (2301 GMT) WASHINGTON (AP) -- Responding to President Clinton's call to fight hate crime, the nation's largest civil rights coalition and a regional Bell telephone company have created a Web site designed to combat Internet hate speech. The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights said Monday the site -- www.civilrights.org -- was developed and will be maintained for two years with a $100,000 contribution from Bell Atlantic. Clinton issued a call two weeks ago at a White House Conference on Hate Crimes to find ways to fight the problem. "You are providing an antidote to cyberhate," he told the civil rights coalition in a letter read by Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater at a news conference on Monday. Wade Henderson, LCCR executive director, said the idea to create a Web site was triggered by a proliferation of Internet hate speech by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and White Aryan Resistance. Bell Atlantic chairman Ray Smith cited a study by the Anti-Defamation League showing the number of hate sites on the Internet has doubled to 250 in the past year. He called the new site "an antidote for poison." The idea is to "counter the frightening espousal of hatred and violence against Americans because of their race, gender, religious or sexual orientation," he said. Henderson said hate groups have become more sophisticated in communicating their doctrines and recruiting. "Instead of the street, they recruit on the net," he explained. There is also concern for the First Amendment protection of free speech, Henderson said. "This Web site will respond to hate with information and competing ideas without seeking to restrict Internet speech." In addition to providing information on hate crimes around the country, the site will explain various strategies to address those crimes and offer materials for young people, parents and teachers to encourage diversity. Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. rule Related stories: * AllPolitics: Clinton denounces Denver's racial violence - November 22, 1997 * Denver seeks answers in apparent wave of hate crime - November 21, 1997 * Hate case raises Internet free speech issues - November 9, 1997 Related sites: Note: Pages will open in a new browser window * CivilRights.org - Leadership Conference on Civil Rights * Bell Atlantic * American Communication Association WWW Archives + Freedom of Speech + Human Rights Issues External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive. _________________________________________________________________ Infoseek search ____________________ ____ ____ _________________________________________________________________ rule Message Boards Sound off on our message boards You said it... [INLINE] Click here to see the Q phone from QUALCOMM, the highest evolution of digital. rule To the top © 1997 Cable News Network, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you.