When will this end?

The text reads, "Facebook is profiting from searches for white supremacist groups, Zuckerberg is asleep in his Metaverse while his company creates Pages for hate groups, and Facebook is serving up Black churches as the next targets for racist violence." The text is yellow and white on a red background. The Color Of Change logo is at the bottom left.

John,

Since its inception, Facebook has put profits over the lives of Black people. A new study by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) titled “Facebook Profits From White Supremacist Groups” shows how thoroughly the platform ignores the safety of our communities -- and how Facebook's negligence all but points violent white extremists to where they can find their next victims.1

Despite Mark Zuckerberg’s vow to ban organized white supremacist groups from Facebook, these groups are still thriving on the platform -- including some that Facebook put on its own internal list of “Dangerous Individuals and Organizations,” according to the TTP study.2 Of the 226 hate groups researchers searched for, more than a third have a presence on Facebook, some due to Facebook’s automatic page-generation feature. They also found that paid ads popped up in some searches for racist hate groups, including ads for Black churches and businesses – essentially putting a target on their backs.

Tell Zuckerberg: Stop Platforming White Supremacists on Facebook!

Over the years, Facebook has raked in billions of dollars in ad revenue but ignored hate speech, tolerated racist practices, and perpetuated disinformation.3 Instead of addressing these issues, Zuckerberg buried himself in the Metaverse, telling his subordinates to handle the problem instead of showing leadership and ensuring our communities are safe from racist violence. We’ve called out Zuckerberg before, and we’re calling him out again. 

Help us continue to hold Facebook accountable by signing a petition demanding Zuckerberg:  

  • Immediately end paid ads tied to searches for hate groups;
  • Terminate Facebook’s auto-generated Pages feature;
  • Ban all groups on Facebook’s “Dangerous Organizations” and add resources to identify and keep them off the platform; and
  • Meet personally with racial justice and civil rights leaders and take personal responsibility for Facebook’s continued profiting from hateful content.

It’s clear: despite promising to rid the social media platform of white supremacists, Facebook is still helping them spread hate. Zuckerberg’s social media giant is not only failing at the most basic level – monitoring those groups – but is still making money off them. Facebook has taken zero responsibility for its part in putting Black people at risk for racist violence, but that stops now. Together, we can stop Facebook from profiting off white supremacist hate and placing Black people in the crosshairs of these dangerous and violent organizations. Facebook and Zuckerberg must do better. The world is watching. 

Stop Facebook from profiting Off white supremacist Violence

 

Until justice is real, 
—COC's Tech Accountability Team

 

References: 

  1. Tech Transparency Project, "Facebook Profits from White Supremacist Groups," August 12, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/358130?t=8&akid=53450%2E4731121%2Ef65Rbi
  2. Aarti Shahani, "With Facebook Ban on White Extremism, International Norms Apply to US," NPR, April 5, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/358134?t=10&akid=53450%2E4731121%2Ef65Rbi
  3. Mike Issac, "Facebook's profit surged 101 percent on strong ad sales," The New York Times, July 28, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/358135?t=12&akid=53450%2E4731121%2Ef65Rbi