Dear John, 

Today, Facebook’s bought and paid for Oversight Board upheld Trump's
temporary ban from the platform but is giving Facebook’s leaders another
6-months to decide if they want to allow Trump to once again have access
to his bully pulpit to stoke the flames of white nationalism and incite
violence against Black communities and our allies.^1

Let’s be clear: what should have been swift and decisive action from
Facebook to remove Trump from its platform years ago is instead an ongoing
months-long bureaucratic process because Facebook’s leadership refuses to
take responsibility for their harms against our democracy. Facebook has
once again shown its priorities lie with maintaining profits over the
safety of Black communities and democracy.

Time and time again, we’ve learned that we cannot trust Facebook to do
what is right, and this decision lays bare the urgent need for Congress
and the Biden-Harris administration to create new rules of the road to
reign in Facebook’s stronghold on our democracy. [ [link removed] ]John,
that’s why we’re asking, will you chip in $5 to help us fight back against
Trump and Facebook’s refusal to do what is right?

[ [link removed] ]Yes, I will Chip-in!

Regardless of Facebook’s decision to punt their decision on Trump down the
road, we know that Facebook has consistently fallen short in managing
white nationalist ideologies and groups on its platform. We know these
groups are plotting on Facebook to cause direct harm and danger for Black
people.^2 We saw it with Kyle Rittenhouse.^3 We know white nationalist
groups are operating overtly on Facebook to undermine Black voters and
democracy. We saw it on January 6.^4 We will see it again.^5

Facebook and other tech behemoths, like YouTube and Twitter, have all
grown beyond their own ability to ensure our safety. We need to reduce
their power to do harm at scale. Any platform with enough power to
literally enable a white nationalist coup attempt is a platform that is
too big, and one that needs federal regulation now.

From the drastic increase in hate crimes we’ve seen against Black and
marginalized people over the past four years, to what we saw at the
Capitol earlier this year, social media platforms will continue to play an
oversized role in undermining the democracy of this country unless
Congress and the Biden-Harris administration commit to regulating the tech
industry by breaking up tech monopolies and changing the dangerous
incentives in the digital economy. [ [link removed] ]Will you chip in $5 to support our
work to break up the dangerous monopoly these platforms have formed and
create policies that curb their ability to profit from engagement on hate
and misinformation?

[ [link removed] ]Yes, I will Chip-in!

Until justice is real, 

—Jade Magnus Ogunnaike and the Color Of Change team

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References:

 1. “Oversight Board upholds former President Trump’s suspension, finds
Facebook failed to impose proper penalty,” Facebook Oversight Board,
May 5, 2021
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 2. Kari Paul, “'It Let White Supremacists Organize': The Toxic Legacy of
Facebook's Groups,” The Guardian, February 4, 2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 3. “Alison Durkee “Zuckerberg Admits Facebook ‘Mistake’ in Leaving Up
Kenosha Guard ‘Call to Arms’,” Forbes, August 28, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 4. Craig Silverman, Ryan Mac, & Jane Lytyvenko, “Facebook Knows It Was
Used to Help Incite the Capitol Insurrection,” Buzzfeed, April 22,
2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 5. Craig Silverman, Ryan Mac, & Jane Lytyvenko, “Facebook Stopped
Employees From Reading an Internal Report About Its Role in the
Insurrection. You Can Read It Here,” Buzzfeed, April 26, 2021,
[ [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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