#StopHateforProfit Takes Aim at Facebook
Members of the Stop Hate for Profit coalition and its network of thousands of supporters across the country will be joining in a coordinated week of action on Instagram this week, demanding parent company Facebook take action to address racism, hate, and disinformation on its platforms.
The actions include a one-day freeze on Instagram sharing as well as a weeklong series of posts, starting today, calling out Facebook for its role in inciting violence, spreading racism and hate, and contributing to electoral disinformation. Members of the public, corporations, nonprofits and social influencers are expected to join in the effort.
The week of action is the latest effort by the Stop Hate for Profit coalition, led by nine civil rights and advocacy organizations: ADL (Anti-Defamation League), Color of Change, Common Sense, Free Press, LULAC, Mozilla, NAACP, National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) and Sleeping Giants. This week of action is supported by Sacha Baron Cohen, recipient of the 2019 ADL International Leadership Award. The action comes just two weeks after the death of protestors at a Black Lives Matter rally in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which occurred after violent militia groups, including the Kenosha Guard, used Facebook to call for their followers to incite violence.
“Facebook wants you to believe that the company’s role in the death of the protestors in Kenosha was just an ‘operational mistake.’ But it wasn’t. It is just the latest casualty of Facebook’s choices designed to maximize profits,” the coalition said in a statement. “Our organizations as well as other experts have been warning Facebook for years about the problem of dangerous, potentially violent groups and individuals using Facebook. But time and time again they’ve failed to listen.”