The Rwandan genocide of 1994 is frequently cited in order to demonstrate a causal relationship between speech and violence. The RTLM radio broadcasts that called on Hutus to ‘cut down the tall trees’ and described the Tutsi minority as ‘cockroaches’ and ‘snakes’ – dehumanising language reminiscent of the Nazi propaganda that depicted Jews as rats – are said to be culpable in the stirring up of a maelstrom of hatred that resulted in the murder of almost a million people.
