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.
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.
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. John, can we count on you to pitch in today and help us keep fighting?
Until justice is real,
– Color of Change HQ
References
1. Taylor Lorenz and Drew Harwell, "Facebook paid GOP firm to malign TikTok," Washington Post, march 30, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/351453?t=8&akid=53186%2E4731121%2EZgLVyf
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, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/351454?t=10&akid=53186%2E4731121%2EZgLVyf
3. "Student Arrested for Slapping Teacher," Inside Edition, October 8, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/351455?t=12&akid=53186%2E4731121%2EZgLVyf
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, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/108114?t=14&akid=53186%2E4731121%2EZgLVyf
