Denmark, The Danish Institute for Human Rights (2024), Freedom of speech and self-censorship

Country

Denmark

Title

Denmark, The Danish Institute for Human Rights (2024), Freedom of speech and self-censorship

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Year

2024

Publication type

Report - official data on incidents

Geographical coverage

National

Area/location of interest

Not applicable - national level

Type of Institution

National human rights body

Institution

Denmark, The Danish Institute for Human Rights (Institut for Menneskerettigheder)

Thematic focus

Public perceptions and attitudes

Groups

General population

Key findings

10% of survey participants report that they have refrained from taking part in public debate in the past year through demonstrations, town hall meetings, etc. for fear of negative reactions. Fear of violence and threats is the reason for self-censorship for one in three (31%) of those who have refrained from participating in public debate in the physical space in the past year. Around one in three of survey participants have refrained from participating in public debate on social media for fear of negative reactions, while fear of harassment is the reason for self-censorship for one in three (32%) of those who refrained from participating in public debate on social media in the past year. In general, 'Religion, refugees, foreigners and equality/discrimination' are topics that discourage and cause more people to stay out of the debate. When it comes to current topics, 7 October Hamas attacks against Israel and the war that ensued in Gaza comprise the main cause for self-censorship.

Methodology (Qualitative/Quantitative and exact type used, questionnaires etc)

Respondents are distributed by selected characteristics; gender, age, geography and education, which are standard characteristics in surveys. In addition, political affiliation has been added as previous studies show that it is a factor that can influence people's propensity for self-censorship. To ensure representativeness in terms of gender, age, region and education, data is weighted by Epinion. This means that if there are certain groups that are underrepresented among respondents, they have been assigned a slightly higher weight to correct the skew, and vice versa for overrepresented groups. It is stated in the report that respondents are highly representative of the Danish population on the selected characteristics.

Sample details and representativeness

Quantitative questionnaire answered by 4000 persons over 18. The survey is based on data collected by Epinion via Norstat's internet-based panel.

DISCLAIMERThe information presented here is collected under contract by the FRA's research network FRANET. The information and views contained do not necessarily reflect the views or the official position of the FRA.