White nationalist groups are using Facebook to mobilize.
[ [link removed] ]White faded background with photos of people outfitted
in KKK garb
Tell Facebook to ban white nationalist hate groups and stop
fueling white nationalism.
[ [link removed] ]TAKE ACTION
Dear John,
A white nationalist just murdered two protesters demanding justice for
Jacob Blake in Kenosha.
While demanding justice for Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old Black man who
police recently shot in the back 7 times, paralyzing him from the waist
down, an emboldened white nationalist militia member opened fire on
protestors, shooting and killing two of them, and wounding a third.^1 This
white nationalist man was encouraged and emboldened to carry out such
violence through a network of Facebook groups in which white nationalists
openly discussed how they planned to violently harm protesters, with no
intervention from Facebook until after the protesters were killed.^2 Even
worse, Facebook knew about the group and their calls to violence before
the shooting happened and chose not to act.^3
Sadly, this isn’t the first time white nationalist groups have mobilized
on the platform to carry out real-world violence. Facebook promised to ban
hate groups after it was used to organize 2018’s deadly “Unite the Right”
riot. And just last week, they promised to ban far-right militias as
threats increased, but white nationalists were still able to use Facebook
to organize to harm protesters last night.
[ [link removed] ]We cannot allow this to continue. Tell Facebook to stop fueling white
nationalist hate groups.
Color Of Change has spent five years now trying to get Facebook to combat
hate on the platform, and while we’ve won important changes to limit the
impact of online hate, Facebook still refuses to fully reckon with the
ways their company elevates white nationalists and other hate groups.
Facebook, for example, automatically recommends hate group pages and
content to those who use the platform, indoctrinating people in white
nationalist ideologies. In some cases, Facebook will even automatically
create pages for new hate groups.^4^
[ [link removed] ]Facebook must IMMEDIATELY ban white nationalist hate groups from
organizing on their platform.
Black people are facing undue suppression, harassment, and hate on
Facebook. We can’t afford for Facebook to keep radicalizing white
nationalists, who, through their interactions on Facebook, are driving
real-world violence against protesters. White nationalist violence against
us must end, and it’s Facebook’s job to step in and stop it.
[ [link removed] ]Tell Facebook to stop fueling white nationalist organizing, once and
for all.
Until justice is real,
—Jade, Arisha, Rashad, Johnny, Amanda, Marie, Evan, Imani, Eesha,
Gabrielle, Samantha, Jennette, Ciera, Marcus, FolaSade, and the rest of
the Color Of Change team
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References:
1. “17-year-old charged with homicide after fatal shooting during Kenosha
protests, authorities say,” The Washington Post, August 26, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
2. Lauren Hough, Twitter, August 25, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
3. "Facebook chose not to act on militia complaints before Kenosha
shooting," The Verge, August 26, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
4. “White Supremacist Groups Are Thriving on Facebook,” Tech Transparency
Project, May 21, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
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[ [link removed] ]Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black
folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Please
help keep our movement strong.
[ [link removed] ]Make a Donation
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