MediaJustice

Change the Terms

Tech companies must do more to combat hateful conduct on their platforms. For instance, the world’s largest social network, Faceboook, has a history of ignoring the concerns of communities of color and putting already vulnerable populations at even greater risk on their platforms. It’s time to demand accountability from Mark Zuckerberg and others.

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By the Numbers

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2 Billion

Facebook has over 2 billion users, and 67% of Americans get their news from social media networks (including 74% of people of color).

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2016

Before, during, and after the 2016 presidential election, Russian actors bought Facebook ads and promoted posts on hot-button issues like immigration, police brutality, the Black Lives Matter movement and slavery to sow discord amongst American voters, and to influence the outcome of the election.

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700,000

For at least a year, the biggest page on Facebook purporting to be part of the Black Lives Matter network, titled simply “Black Lives Matter,” was a scam with ties to a middle-aged white man in Australia. The page had almost 700,000 followers.

About the Campaign

PROBLEM: For years we have worked to reduce racist hate on Facebook and the targeting of Black activists by pressuring the company to conduct a civil rights audit and adopt policies to prevent app developers from creating social media surveillance tools for law enforcement agencies. Yet, a 2018 report from The New York Times revealed that Facebook hired a conservative public relations firm to plant stories discrediting organizations critical of the social media giant—including our close ally, Color of Change. In fact, they hired this right-wing PR firm to plant hit pieces and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories in response to our shared criticisms of their handling of hate speech, surveillance and censorship.

SOLUTION: In 2019 we helped organize a coalition which demanded drastic change at Facebook. This included a restructuring of the Facebook board and a change in leadership, as well as the firing of VP Joel Kaplan, who oversaw the hiring of the right-wing PR firm in 2016. Our letter to the Facebook board also demanded that they make public all findings and recommendations of the civil rights audit without revisions or redactions by January 31, 2019. In March 2019 Facebook announced it would ban white nationalist and white separatist content on its platforms.

GET INVOLVED: Add your organization’s name to the list of those that have signed on in support of the recommended policies for corporations like Facebook to adopt and implement to reduce hateful activities on their platforms.

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