Amidst these COVID-19 times, social media is one of the most toxic yet informative places to get the right/wrong source of information. A lot has been floating across social media platforms. Hatred, lynching, bullying, racism, and it's time to put a full stop to it.
On Wednesday renowned celebs like Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry, Leonardo DiCaprio and many more have decided to take part in a 24-hour Instagram "freeze" to protest against what they say is parent company Facebook's failure to tackle violent and hateful content and election misinformation.
Let's take a look at what is #StopHateforProfit that intrigued the celebs to take this drastic step, considering all of them have more than 1 million followers.
What is Stop Hate for Profit?
The charity Stop Hate for Profit is asking Instagram users to join a 24-hour social media "freeze" during which they put up a message about Facebook Group's "repeated failures to address hate speech and election disinformation on their platforms."
In July brands including Adidas, Birchbox, Dockers and French Connection the US paused their advertising in support of the campaign to counter the spread of racist rhetoric across its social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
Stop Hate for Profit is an ongoing campaign to hold social media companies accountable for hate on their platforms.
With the support of more than 1,200 businesses and nonprofits, and countless consumers, the campaign sent a clear message to Facebook in July 2020 with its ad pause: stop valuing profits over hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism, and disinformation.
The Stop Hate for Profit coalition is calling on all advertisers to hit pause on ad spending and requesting Facebook to meet specific demands, such as preventing lies in political ads, closing down groups that are associated with violence, and allowing victims of severe harassment to reach a live Facebook representative for help immediately.
Facebook wasn’t built in a day.
— Sacha Baron Cohen (@SachaBaronCohen) September 16, 2020
And a 1-day protest may not change the Emperor’s ways.
But today on Instagram, millions of people are learning about #StopHateForProfit
Read our demands at https://t.co/Q9G9i7W56O
This is one day in a long fight.
Vincit omnia veritas. pic.twitter.com/kpIsMz7yTD
An initiative by actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen
The actor said he would not post to his Instagram account on Wednesday in protest of parent company Facebook's failure to fight hate. Cohen announced support of the Week of Action organized by the Stop Hate for Profit campaign, which was spearheaded over the summer by the Anti-Defamation League, NAACP and several other civil rights groups. The groups are protesting Facebook's unwillingness to police hate speech or monitor posts for misinformation.
The tweet posted Monday by Cohen included a photo of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wearing whiteface. The message reads: "The only thing more terrifying than Mark Zuckerberg surfing in whiteface ... Is the white supremacy and lies Facebook spreads every day. This Weds Sept 16 I'm freezing my Instagram to tell Mark to #StopHateForProfit. Who's in?!"
Cohen has been a public critic of Facebook, which he called "the greatest propaganda machine in history" last November in a speech after receiving an international leadership award from the ADL. He added that "if Facebook were around in the 1930s, it would have allowed Hitler to post 30-second ads on his 'solution' to the 'Jewish problem.'"
Celebs who lend their foot forward and supported the charity
Hollywood stars and influencers are lending their backing to the "#StopHateforProfit" movement's latest campaign. The movement asks people to put up a message highlighting what they called the damage Facebook does but otherwise refrain from posting on Instagram for a day.
The organizers behind "#StopHateforProfit," including civil rights groups such as the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP and Color Of Change, had previously led a campaign that got hundreds of brands and nonprofits to join a Facebook advertising boycott in July.
Ashton Kutcher, Mark Ruffalo, Kerry Washington, Rosario Dawson, Jamie Foxx and Sacha Baron Cohen were among about two dozen Hollywood stars and celebrity influencers supporting the campaign.
Check out their social media handles:
Kim Kardashian's last post on Instagram reads as: love that I can connect directly with you through Instagram and Facebook, but I can't sit by and stay silent while these platforms continue to allow the spreading of hate, propaganda and misinformation - created by groups to sow division and split America apart – only to take steps after people are killed. Misinformation shared on social media has a serious impact on our elections and undermines our democracy. Please join me tomorrow when I will be "freezing" my Instagram and FB account to tell Facebook to #StopHateForProfit. Link in bio for more info on how to preserve truth (sic).
While Leonardo DiCaprio explained to his fans why he is supporting the cause:
His post on Instagram read as, 'An important reminder from @SachaBaronCohen of why I will be pausing my Facebook and Instagram for 24 hours starting tomorrow alongside @ColorofChange, @ADL_National, the @NAACP, @GLAAD and many others (sic).
Impact on Facebook
With 188 million followers, Kardashian West is one of the most influential people on Instagram and support from her, and other big names for the boycott saw Facebook shares slide in aftermarket trading late Tuesday. They were down 1.7% ahead of the market open on Wednesday.
Facebook, which earned nearly $70 billion in advertising revenue last year, is facing a reckoning over what critics call indefensible excuses for amplifying divisions, hate and misinformation on their platforms.
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