The Ukrainian Institute and the creative agency Bickerstaff.932 have developed a project for monitoring genocidal rhetoric — the Genocide Speech Monitor. With its help, it is possible to analyze the level of genocidal rhetoric in public statements by leaders of various countries.
The project is dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor in Ukraine and once again demonstrates the cyclical nature of history.
In 1932, Stalin declared, 'If we do not start correcting the situation in Ukraine, we may lose Ukraine.' These were not just words; they were followed by specific actions — artificial famine in Ukraine, the deaths of over 4 million Ukrainians, and 1 million unborn losses.
Ninety years later, on February 21, 2022, we hear from Putin — 'modern Ukraine was entirely and completely created by Russia, more precisely, by Bolshevik, communist Russia.' In three days, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"Volodymyr Sheyko, the CEO of the Ukrainian Institute, talks about the goals of the information project: 'Honoring the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine, we tell the world the truth about this tragedy, its preconditions, and consequences. Genocide does not happen suddenly; it is a planned and systematic terror accompanied by genocidal rhetoric of its ideologists. We have created the Genocide Speech Monitor — a practical tool for foreign audiences that allows tracking such rhetoric both in the context of the Holodomor and in current events.'
Every tragedy has its traceable signs. In the case of genocide, these are the words of dictators and government representatives that may indicate their future intentions. 'We can draw clear parallels between the rhetoric and actions of the Kremlin in 1932-1933 and today. This unpunished evil has returned to Ukraine. With this project, we urge other countries to pay attention to the statements of their leaders and leaders of neighboring countries,' says Maria Kochurenko, a strategist at Bickerstaff.932 — a Ukrainian creative agency responsible for developing and implementing the project commissioned by the Ukrainian Institute.
The website also allows analyzing any statement up to 12,000 words for the level of genocidal rhetoric, such as a speech or public statement by a country's leader. The tool is completely free and available for use worldwide. There are plans for expanding its functionality to enable real-time analysis of public information from open sources by artificial intelligence, detecting genocidal rhetoric in the words of country leaders.
