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John,

We’ve been fighting Facebook for a long time. Since its inception,
Facebook has put its own profit margins over the safety and lives of Black
people. Over the years, Color Of Change has been hot on Facebook’s heels,
and we’ve won crucial victories in making the platform safer for Black
people, largely due to the support of people like you, John.
From pressuring Facebook to undergo a rigorous racial equity audit, to
getting Donald Trump kicked off the platform, and pressuring them to stop
targeting children with predatory behavioral advertising, Color Of Change
continues to be a driving force for public scrutiny of Facebook’s unsafe
practices. 

[ [link removed] ]CLICK HERE TO HELP US KEEP Winning against facebook

But have you heard the most recent news about them? A new story just
revealed that Facebook hired Targeted Victory, a GOP public relations
firm, to launch a campaign to malign and disparage the globally-popular
app TikTok by promoting misinformation that originated on Facebook.^1 For
instance, the “slap a teacher” challenge was widely reported as a TikTok
challenge that had schools and teachers on alert, but the challenge didn’t
originate on TikTok; it was a rumor that started on Facebook that Targeted
Victory hyped up to news outlets.^2 By the time the truth was uncovered,
it was already too late; news stations had already wrongfully attributed
several instances of assault to the video platform.^3

Unfortunately, those of us at Color Of Change weren't surprised by this
news. We’ve been in Facebook’s crosshairs before; in 2018, it was revealed
that Facebook hired right-wing opposition research firm Definers Public
Affairs to go after us. Facebook was threatened by our work and hired this
firm to push anti-Black and anti-Semitic smears to discredit us.^4 Though
they cut ties with the firm after the news broke, it looks like Facebook
is up to its old tricks.

[ [link removed] ]We need your help to fight Facebook. Chip in today!

Though we have fought and won many battles against them, we still have a
great deal of work to do. We’re working hard to pass antitrust laws in the
US Congress and in states across the country, which would stop Facebook’s
anticompetitive practices and leave room for small, Black-owned businesses
to thrive. Facebook has already proven that it will not self-regulate, so
it’s up to us to dismantle its power.

Our victories against Facebook are only increasing, but we can’t keep
winning without the incredible support of people like you.
[ [link removed] ]John, can we count on you to pitch in today and help us keep
fighting?

 

 Until justice is real,

– Color of Change HQ

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 References

1. Taylor Lorenz and Drew Harwell, "Facebook paid GOP firm to malign
TikTok," Washington Post, march 30,
2022, [ [link removed] ][link removed]

2. Palmer Haasch, "Schools are cautioning against a 'slap a teacher'
TikTok challenge, but it appears to be a rumor spread on Facebook,"
Insider, October 6,
2021, [ [link removed] ][link removed]

3. "Student Arrested for Slapping Teacher," Inside Edition, October 8,
2021, [ [link removed] ][link removed]

4. Sheera Frenkel, Nicholas Confessore, Cecilia Kang, Matthew
Rosenberg and Jack Nicas, "Delay, Deny, and Deflect: How Facebook's
Leaders Fought Through Crisis," New York Times, November 14,
2018, [ [link removed] ][link removed]



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