| Friend—
This month Free Press is launching a campaign to pressure social-media companies to stop amplifying bigotry and conspiracy theories ahead of the midterm elections. As in previous years, we know that foreign and domestic actors alike will push lies and hate to suppress the votes of people of color and undermine our democracy. This time we’re more prepared than ever.
We’ll be pushing Meta, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube to stop promoting bigotry and conspiracies, to enforce their rules in all languages, and to be transparent about how they moderate content.
Free Press is deeply committed to fighting for free speech — and we want freedom of speech for all.
Freedom of speech has never been fully extended to people of color in the United States. Since this country’s founding, an elite and powerful group of white media owners have used their control of the media system to legitimize exploitation and discrimination. When people of color have spoken up to affirm our own dignity, we have routinely faced violent backlash and harassment.
In recent years white supremacists and conspiracy theorists have harnessed social media to sow chaos and bigotry, and to undermine our pursuit of a just multiracial democracy. Tech companies put profit above all else — and have failed to prioritize civil rights and public safety. In 2020, for instance, targeted online ads and other messaging discouraged Black and Latinx people from voting and participating in the U.S. Census. Meanwhile, white-supremacist militia groups were allowed to use social media to organize armed demonstrations, including the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Social media fueled coordinated harassment campaigns against innocent election workers, intended to intimidate them from carrying out their duties safely and with integrity.
What’s more, tech platforms are being used to normalize, fund and foment white-supremacist violence and fascist propaganda. Companies like Meta, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube have a moral duty to address this and the harm it causes their users — especially users of color. That’s why Free Press leads the Change the Terms coalition — and it’s why we applauded our coalition’s recent victory in getting YouTube to kick state-sponsored Russian propaganda off of its platform.
We know what lies ahead in 2022 — and we know that tech platforms must do everything they can to disrupt the spread of hate and anti-democratic disinformation. But if we’ve learned anything in the past few years, it’s that these companies won’t do a thing without immense public pressure. That’s where you come in.
We believe that people deserve a media system that’s open, affordable, democratic and safe for people of color and everyone else who speaks out for justice. In the end, communication tools are just that — tools that can be used to liberate or oppress, to bolster fascism or democracy. At Free Press, we are fighting for a media environment that upholds democracy and grants free speech for all — and we’re so glad you’re in this fight with us.
With gratitude,
Jessica J. González
Co-CEO
Free Press and Free Press Action
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