Celebrities Freeze their Facebook, Instagram Handles to Campaign Against Hate Speech

As much as we love Facebook and Instagram for connecting us with our favourite actors and influencers, we cannot ignore the fact that the social media has been giving a platform to hate speech and misinformation also. To urge Facebook to reform its policies against hate speech, celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lawrence and others are going to quit social media for a day under the #StopHateForProfit campaign.

Actors like Sacha Baron Cohen have joined forces with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to launch the campaign calling on Facebook to crack down on hate speech, violence, and misinformation on its platforms. In one of its recent tweets, ADL said, “Facebook does not protect its users from hate or disinformation. Facebook has shown us time & time again that profits come before people. That’s why we are “freezing” our Instagram account for 24 hours.”

The "freeze" is part of the campaign’s "week of action”, which kicked off Monday. Members plan to continue to share information on "how Facebook’s failures lead to real-life violence and sow division" and call for change through the end of the week.

Businesswoman and social media influencer Kim Kardashian also urged Facebook to stop providing platform to hate speech which is dividing America. She tweeted, “I can’t sit by and stay silent while these platforms continue to allow the spreading of hate, propaganda and misinformation - created by groups to sow division and split America apart only to take steps after people are killed. Misinformation shared on social media has a serious impact on our elections and undermines our democracy.”

Actor Mark Ruffalo has also called on Facebook to take substantial steps to stop hate speech, misinformation on its platform and has frozen his accounts this Wednesday.

With the US Presidential elections just a month away, social media platforms have become an essential platform for politicians and other interest groups to target its voters and influence the election results. The political scene in the United States has been polarised since President Donald Trump took office with some help from Facebook as explained by Netflix documentary The Great Hack. The recent Black Lives Matter protests and President Trump’s ways of curbing it have only raised questions on social media companies' responsibility in tackling fake news which can endanger marginalised people’s lives.