Dangerous Speech Project

What Dangerous Speech Project does

The Dangerous Speech Project is a nonprofit research organization founded by Susan Benesch in 2012 that studies speech that can inspire violence against groups of people and develops strategies to prevent such violence without infringing on freedom of expression. The organization pioneered the Dangerous Speech Framework, a systematic analytical tool that assesses speech based on five factors — speaker, audience, content, social/historical context, and means of dissemination — differentiating it from the vaguer concept of hate speech. Its core outputs are research publications, case studies, country-specific analysis, and the Global Research Initiative launched in 2024, all distributed freely through its website (dangerousspeech.org), social media channels, newsletters, and workshops.

The organization operates as a fiscally sponsored project under New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity, and is funded primarily through donations. It maintains a deliberately small team (1-10 employees) anchored by Susan Benesch, who also serves as faculty associate at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. Its work spans at least 12 countries including the United States, Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, India, Poland, Germany, Philippines, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Russia, and Sri Lanka, with research briefs covering the 2024 U.S. elections and AI's role in counterspeech.

The go-to-market motion is community-led, targeting academic researchers, journalists, policymakers, civil society practitioners, and technology platform content moderators. There are no commercial products or services; all resources are provided free of charge. Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The organization has influenced major technology platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Spotify in their content moderation approaches, and its ideas have been implemented in field projects such as Kenya's Umati Project, Myanmar's Panzagar project, PeaceTech Lab's work in South Sudan, and Nigeria's monitoring project.

Name

Dangerous Speech Project

Legal name

Dangerous Speech Project

Website

https://dangerousspeech.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Dangerous Speech Project is a nonprofit research organization that studies speech inspiring violence and develops counterspeech frameworks, serving researchers, journalists, policymakers, and technology platforms globally through free resources.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit violence and atrocity prevention research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331)

akta.pro primary industry

Threat Assessment, Violence Prevention & Behavioral Intervention Support (EDAEACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Risk Intelligence, Threat Monitoring & Crisis Response (Harmful trends, coordinated abuse) (BPAAALAN), Moderation, Safety & Toxicity Detection (HDAAADAH), Public Health Communications, Risk Communication & Community Engagement (HLAJAMAH)

Keywords

• Dangerous speech analysis
• Counterspeech research
• Atrocity prevention research
• Violence prevention education
• Free expression advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

New City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations: The organization accepts donations through donationpay.org, indicating a donation-based funding model. They are fiscally sponsored by New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Dangerous Speech Project is a nonprofit research organization that studies speech capable of inciting mass violence and develops frameworks and strategies to counter it. Its core offerings include the Dangerous Speech Framework for analyzing harmful rhetoric, country-specific case studies, a publicly accessible library of research and guides, the Global Research Initiative, and structured workshops on dangerous speech and counterspeech for practitioners, journalists, and policymakers.

Product overview

The Dangerous Speech Project is a research organization focused on studying speech that can inspire violence. They do not offer a traditional software product but rather provide research, analysis, workshops, and a library of resources on dangerous speech and counterspeech. Their work includes election monitoring, country-specific research, and collaboration with tech platforms on content moderation policy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Global Research Initiative: An international and interdisciplinary initiative focused on conducting and coordinating research on dangerous speech across multiple countries.

Products and services

• Dangerous Speech Framework A systematic analytical framework for assessing speech that can increase the likelihood of group-targeted violence, evaluating five factors: who made or disseminated the content, who received it, the content itself, the social and historical context, and the means of dissemination. It is used by researchers, journalists, policymakers, and practitioners working in violence and atrocity prevention.
• Workshops on Dangerous Speech and Counterspeech Structured workshops that train participants on how to identify dangerous speech and apply counterspeech strategies to prevent violence, aimed at researchers, journalists, practitioners, and the engaged public.
• Global Research Initiative An international and interdisciplinary research program conducting and coordinating studies on dangerous speech across multiple countries, including U.S. election-related research briefs and country-specific work covering Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, India, Poland, and other regions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Research has influenced major technology platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Spotify in their content moderation approaches
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSusan Benesch serves as faculty associate at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center. The center provides academic affiliation and research collaboration opportunities, enhancing the organization's credibility and research capabilities.
• Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunded a workshop at LMU Munich in February 2025 that brought together an international interdisciplinary group of experts to develop the report on AI in Counterspeech.
• LMU MunichminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted the workshop on AI in Counterspeech in February 2025, bringing together international experts to examine AI's role in counterspeech.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Anti-Defamation League (ADL): ADL is one of the largest U.S. nonprofits tracking extremist and hateful rhetoric, including online dangerous speech, with research, policy advocacy, and partnerships with tech platforms. It is the closest large-scale analog to DSP's violence-prevention-through-research model.
• PEN America: PEN America combines free-expression advocacy with research on online harassment, disinformation, and dangerous speech contexts (e.g., schools, elections). Its dual research-plus-advocacy operating model overlaps directly with DSP's.
• Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC): SPLC monitors hate groups, tracks extremist rhetoric, and publishes research used by journalists, educators, and platforms. Its content classification work and academic-style reports closely parallel DSP's framework-and-library model.
• Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET): GNET produces academic research on online extremism and technology-facilitated harms, often partnering with platforms. Its research-output-led model and cross-national scope make it a tight peer for DSP's Global Research Initiative.
• Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD): ISD is a global research and policy NGO focused on extremism, polarization, and digital harmful conduct, with active programs in counterspeech, online harm research, and platform advisory — a structurally similar international nonprofit peer to DSP.

Broad incumbents

• Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT): CDT is a larger, established think tank working on content moderation policy, platform accountability, and free expression. It competes with DSP for policy relevance and platform advisory engagements in the same regulatory debates.
• Wikimedia Foundation: Wikimedia operates a large-scale Trust & Safety function researching harmful speech, harassment, and counterspeech on its platforms. While mission-different (knowledge commons), its T&S research arm overlaps DSP's content moderation work.

Others

• Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt): bidt is a research institute that funded DSP's AI in Counterspeech workshop. As a funder/host of interdisciplinary research on digital harms, it sits in DSP's ecosystem as a research partner rather than a competitor.

Emerging players

• Moonshot CVE: Moonshot builds technology-enabled counter-extremism and counter-disinformation services for governments and platforms. It represents a more productized, tech-forward version of DSP's counterspeech mission.
• Ditch the Label: Ditch the Label is an international charity producing research and digital interventions on online hate and bullying. It is a smaller, youth-focused peer intersecting DSP's audience and methodology.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dangerousspeech
• Facebookfacebook.com/dangerousspeech
• Instagraminstagram.com/dangerousspeech
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dangerousspeech

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Dangerous Speech Project