Stop Hate for Profit Coalition Calls on Tech Platforms to Deplatform Tucker Carlson and Other Repeat Promoters of Racist Great Replacement Theory
New York, NY, May 26, 2022 - In the wake of the horrific racist massacre in Buffalo, NY, Stop Hate for Profit -- the national coalition of civil rights organizations and advocacy groups behind the largest advertiser walk-out ever of Facebook – is calling on mainstream social media platforms Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, Discord, and Reddit to immediately stop the spread of hateful white supremacist rhetoric that has incited acts of violence by permanently banning repeat perpetrators like Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham and others from their platforms and enforcing their own hate speech policies with regard to the Great Replacement theory and white supremacy.
“As a coalition of storied civil rights organizations and advocacy groups, we are deeply saddened and alarmed by the racist murders in Buffalo on May 14, and we grieve for families of the victims,” Stop Hate for Profit leaders said. “The tragic killing of 10 people in New York was motivated by the racist and hateful replacement theory that has spread like wildfire through mainstream social media and is amplified to millions of viewers on cable TV channels. It is time for social media platforms to shut hate speech down.”
Tucker Carlson, in particular, uses YouTube, Twitter, and many mainstream media outlets as a megaphone to push conspiracy theories and racist content that legitimize and provoke violent acts of white supremacism in the United States. Social media platforms continue to spread this divisive hate without accountability. Carlson’s account has millions of followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and Tucker Carlson Tonight episodes boast millions of views on YouTube.
“Our nation faces a clear and present danger as innocent Americans, particularly African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and other people of color, are attacked and killed by perpetrators consumed by racist conspiracies spewed by online media,” SHFP leaders said. “It is imperative that leaders of the world’s largest social media companies take immediate action to prevent their platforms from being used to purvey white supremacist violence. We must hold platforms accountable for profiting off hateful rhetoric that has resulted in innocent deaths. Influencers who perpetuate the ‘great replacement theory’ through media amplifiers must be challenged by voters, consumers, and leading moral voices of our society.”
The Stop Hate for Profit coalition is calling on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, Discord, and Reddit to take the following immediate actions:
● Permanently ban repeat perpetrators like Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham
● Take down content on and spreaders of the Great Replacement Theory
● Consistently apply content guidelines and policies at scale
● Improve algorithms so they can better identify white supremacist speech on social media
● Create tools to detect the specific features of white supremacist speech
● Train moderators to recognize white supremacist speech and imagery
About Stop Hate for Profit: Stop Hate for Profit is an ongoing campaign to hold social media companies accountable for hate on their platforms. Social media must prioritize people over profit, and they must do it now. With the support of more than 1,200 businesses and non-profits and countless consumers, #SHFP sent a clear message to Facebook in July 2020 with our ad pause to stop valuing profits over hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism, and disinformation. Stop Hate for Profit includes: ADL, Color of Change, Common Sense Media, Free Press, LULAC, NAACP, National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) and Sleeping Giants. More at https://www.stophateforprofit.org/