U.S (UltraViolet) : META, Keep misogynists off THREADS!

 

 

 

Dear friend,

 

You might have heard that Meta, the social media giant that owns Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger, just launched a new platform last week called Threads.¹

Within hours of launching, Threads was bombarded with misogynists, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and anti-LGBTQ+ extremists--many of whom were already banned from other Meta platforms. Notable blocked bigots who are now on Threads include white nationalists Nick Fuentes and Richard Spencer.² This is unacceptable. 

UltraViolet members have successfully pushed social media platforms to restrict and block sexist hatemongers before. We must speak out again now to hold Meta accountable for giving misogynists and white nationalists a new platform to spread their hateful agendas.

Tell Meta : Stop Allowing Disinformation, Misogyny, and Hate to Thrive on Threads

SIGN THE PETITION

Threads is meant to be a response by Meta to Twitter's failure as a platform since the recent takeover by Elon Musk. According to Meta's chief operating officer, Chris Cox, Threads will be a "platform that is sanely run," and the goal of the new platform is "safety, ease of use, reliability."³ 

But Threads is far from this.

The platform is shaping up to be the new playground for right-wing and fringe figures keen on spreading misogyny, racism, and disinformation. What's worse, much of Meta's Trust and Safety team and Elections team--the folks who are supposed to prevent hate and monitor disinformation--were laid off earlier this year.⁴ Meta needs to stop marketing and promoting Threads as a safer new social media alternative if it doesn't have the capacity to monitor hate and disinformation or prevent previously blocked bigots from joining.

One step Meta must take right away to ensure Threads lives up to the hype of being a safer space is to immediately block user accounts of known misogynists and white supremacists. Failing to do so would give these extremists a dangerous new platform to spread racist, sexist, and election disinformation and potentially incite violence ahead of a critical election year. We can't sit by and let that happen.⁵ 

Friend, will you join us in demanding that Meta stop allowing disinformation, hate, and misogyny on Threads?  

Thank you for taking action with us to stop hate !

 

Jaya, Alicia, Arisha, Elisa, Iris, Isatou, KaeLyn, Kathy, Katie, KD, Kimberly, Kimmie, Lindsay, Luna, Maria, Meena, Melody, Nicole, Shaunna, Sonja and Toni, the UltraViolet Team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources :

 

 

 

1. Meta launches Threads early as it looks to take on Twitter, CBS News, July 6, 2023

2. This is what Instagram’s upcoming Twitter competitor looks like, The Verge, June 8, 2023

3. Far-right figures, including Nazi supporters, anti-gay extremists, and white supremacists, are flocking to Threads, Media Matters For America, July 7, 2023

4. Meta cut election teams months before Threads launch, raising concerns for 2024, CNN, July 11, 2023

5. Online Hate and Harassment: The American Experience 2023, Anti-Defamation League, June 27, 2023

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