ScrollOff aimed to strengthen the capacity of youth workers to recognise and address gender-based hate speech and gender-related disinformation affecting young people online. The project aimed to equip youth workers with practical tools to identify evolving coded language, indirect narratives, and algorithm-driven exposure patterns, and to respond ethically and safely in non-formal education settings. A further objective was to improve youth workers’ ability to support young people exposed to misogynistic content, harassment and manipulative online narratives through prevention approaches and clear support pathways. By strengthening professional competencies, the project aimed to enhance young people’s critical thinking, media literacy, and resilience, thereby contributing to inclusion, equality, and safer participation in digital environments.
ScrollOff was created after partners across several countries observed a clear rise in gender-based hate speech, misogynistic narratives and gender-related disinformation on social media affecting young people. Harmful content often appears through humour, memes and coded expressions, which normalise exclusion and make detection more difficult. Youth workers reported frequent unintentional exposure via algorithms and that many young people struggle to distinguish satire, opinion and manipulation. At the same time, youth workers lacked ready-to-use tools adapted to non-formal education to recognise evolving coded language, intervene early and provide ethical, supportive responses, including psychosocial guidance. Existing approaches were fragmented and focused primarily on regulation or moderation, providing limited practical support for prevention. The partnership therefore designed a practical, multilingual KeyBook and an open digital Portal with scenarios and guidance, validated through piloting and stakeholder dialogue, to strengthen inclusion, digital competencies, and safer online participation.