Major Celebs Including DiCaprio, Kim Kardashian West Join #StopHateForProfit Social Media Campaign, Call for 24-Hour Instagram Freeze

Loic Venance/AFP, Getty

Some big-name celebrities are joining a digital Stop Hate for Profit campaign against social media companies, following similar Facebook protest efforts during the summer.

Stop Hate for Profit — a campaign organized by groups like the ADL and the NAACP — has designed this week as a “week of action” that includes a call for a 24-hour Instagram freeze on Wednesday, September 16th. The group’s mission statement says the goal is to hold social media giants accountable for hate spreading on their platforms.

And people from Sacha Baron Cohen to Kim Kardashian West have all joined the protest:

Amazing – every hour, more people are joining tomorrow’s Instagram freeze to tell Facebook to #StopHateForProfit

Advertisers, FB employees and users are fed up.

Facebook – stop spreading the hate, lies and conspiracies that inflame our societies!@NAACP@ColorOfChange @ADL pic.twitter.com/lrI8l7SRfY

— Sacha Baron Cohen (@SachaBaronCohen) September 15, 2020

Misinformation can be harmful. It’s up to us to do our research and make sure what we’re sharing is correct information. It’s up to Facebook and other social platforms to stop the amplification of hate and the undermining of democracy. #StopHateForProfit. https://t.co/BY2kGrYl7B

— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) September 15, 2020

– only to take steps after people are killed. Misinformation shared on social media has a serious impact on our elections and undermines our democracy. Please join me tomorrow when I will be “freezing” my Instagram and FB account to tell Facebook to #StopHateForProfit.

— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) September 15, 2020

 

View this post on Instagram

 

While my cartooning is neither good nor subtle, I hope the point is clear. Facebook claims they are addressing the constant tsunami of bigotry, #hate, and disinformation on their platform, but it takes all of 5 seconds to find absolutely horrific stuff on there. And the more you search for it, the more they actually feed it to you. That’s why this Wednesday, Sept. 16th, I am standing with some of the nations leading Civil Rights orgs, including @ColorOfChange, @ADL_National, and @NAACP and “freezing” my Instagram account to tell Facebook to #StopHateForProfit. WHO’S IN??? #Instafreeze Stophateforprofit.org

A post shared by Ed Helms (@edhelms) on Sep 14, 2020 at 6:11pm PDT

 

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“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell I love sharing my music and my life with you on Instagram and Facebook, but TBH I can’t sit idly by while these platforms turn a blind eye to groups and posts spreading hateful disinformation and intentional confusion. I’m standing with @naacp, @colorofchange, and @adl_national and will be freezing my Instagram and Facebook accounts on Wednesday, September 16th to tell Facebook to #StopHateForProfit. Will you join me?! Link in bio for more info on how to preserve the truth ♥️

A post shared by KATY PERRY (@katyperry) on Sep 15, 2020 at 7:01am PDT

These tools were not built to spread hate, violence, and misinformation, but when companies and individuals benefit from these behaviors, financially or otherwise, it becomes their responsibility to mitigate the unintended utilization. #StopHateForProfit https://t.co/s54jmjfmRg

— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) September 15, 2020

freezing my instagram tomorrow to join @naacp @colorofchange @splc & others – raising our voices to #StopHateForProfit – let’s let Facebook know we value people over profit even if they don’t. who’s in? pic.twitter.com/24hGTV0VBW

— Sarah Wayne Callies (@SarahWCallies) September 15, 2020

Facebook claims they address hate, yet they continue to look the other way as racist, violent groups and posts sow division and split America apart – only taking steps after people are killed. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/AfO70nEEo8

— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) September 14, 2020

Sacha Baron Cohen in particular has been very critical of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg in the past year. At the Golden Globes earlier this year, he introduced Jojo Rabbit saying, “The hero of this next movie is a naive misguided child who spreads Nazi propaganda and only has imaginary friends. His name is Mark Zuckerberg.”