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Wiesbaden (dpa / lhe) - The state reporting office against hatred and agitation on the Internet has registered more than 300 reports in connection with the corona pandemic at the beginning of the year.

Over 150 entries were classified as hate comments, said Hesse's Interior Minister Peter Beuth (CDU) of the German Press Agency in Wiesbaden.

In around 100 of these 150 hate comments, the reporting office assumes that criminal offenses could be fulfilled.

They were forwarded to the Central Office for Combating Internet Crime at the Public Prosecutor's Office (ZIT).

"Even among the reports with a corona-related reference to the worst, there are insults from political leaders and even open calls for violence," reported the interior minister.

More than 30 reports were classified as right-wing extremists and passed on to law enforcement agencies and the protection of the constitution.

The Hessian security authorities, with the help of the citizens, will continue to monitor developments vigilantly and intervene immediately if there are indications of acute dangers for the people of Hesse.

According to the interior minister, since the reporting office was set up in mid-January, a total of around 2,250 specific references to posts and comments in social networks or on websites have been received by “hessengegenhetze”.

Of approximately 1,100 posts and comments classified as hate speech, around 650 were relevant criminal offenses.

Above all, it is insulting and inciting people.

The experts at ZIT dealt with these.

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"Our state registration office is a clear signal that the state government does not tolerate hatred and agitation on the Internet," assured Beuth.

«Nobody should feel left alone on the Internet.

Those who are threatened receive protection. "

Those who incite against other people can be punished more quickly with the help of the population.

"The Internet may be limitless, but the rule of law must be enforced here too," warned the Interior Minister.

The reporting office was established after almost a year.

According to Beuth, the hate comments are mainly to be found in the social networks Twitter and Facebook and are usually reported by users, who are often also affected by the hate comments themselves.

Most often the messages of hate included the topics of hatred against those who think differently, refugees and against incumbent politicians.

At the registration office, anyone from Hesse can turn to experts with texts or photos from the Internet for checking.

Citizens can report incidents at www.hessengegenhetze.de using an online form, e-mail or a telephone hotline.

Reporting portal against hate speech on the Internet