Facebook’s recent failure to extinguish the self-proclaimed militia groups organizing on its platform, including a group called the Kenosha Guard, is why we started the #StopHateForProfit campaign. The lack of policies and enforcement put forth by Facebook to stem the growing tide of hate groups on its platform continues to make space for white supremacists, xenophobia, and racism to run rampant with vitriolic disinformation about the state of events taking place in this country.
Facebook has made it abundantly clear that it has no interest in protecting the public in which it serves, nor does it seek to be proactive in its stance against hate groups. The slow, reactive, and insufficient measures Facebook has taken are not yet enough to protect lives or understand the gravitas of the moment.
Time and again, Mark Zuckerberg and the Facebook team have missed critical opportunities to adopt safety measures and take necessary precautions to ensure online rhetoric does not lead to unprovoked attacks. Facebook has failed, once again, in its charge to be a good steward of the public’s trust in its platform.
The world is at an inflection point, and Facebook has only continued to put forth veiled apologies for its role in spurring the life-threatening climate on and off its platform. These apologies are meant to protect profits over people. Facebook must recognize the severity of where we are as a nation and rise to meet the demands of the moment. If it does not, we will continue to see violence and injustice move within the silos of the platform until there is an explosion of violence at the hands of extremists, once again.
The NAACP and partners have responded to Facebook’s failure to act in the past. You can learn more about our demands by visiting, naacp.org.
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