JCRC SIGNS ON TO STOP THE HATE ON FACEBOOK
Published August 13, 2020
Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) is dedicated to combatting antisemitism, discrimination, and bigotry and championing a just and pluralistic society. JCRC signed on to a letter created by our partners at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs which was sent to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to stop antisemitism and hatred on the social media platform.
More than 90 national, state and local Jewish organizations from around the country added their names to the letter on the third anniversary of the racist and antisemitic violent march in Charlottesville, Va. This initiative was developed with the aim of elevating the Jewish voice in support of recommendations to stop hate groups usage of Facebook and to put more protocols in place.
Below is the full letter. Click here to learn more about JCRC.
ANTISEMITISM AND VIOLENT HATRED ON FACEBOOK
NEED TO STOP
TO: Mark Zuckerberg
We, Jewish leaders from across the country, have rallied together because antisemitism, hate, and online disinformation threaten our community and our partner communities. They fly in the face of our Jewish and American ideals. Violent extremists, conspiracy theorists and other bad actors use your platform to sow hate and division, undermine public health and suppress votes.
You preside over one of the most powerful communications systems in human history. You have the ability and the means to reduce the hate and disinformation that tears us apart. Our history is replete with examples of what can happen when we fail to hold leaders accountable for bringing hate into the public square. We demand nothing more than the same accountability that we expect from ourselves, our kids’ schools, clergy, elected leaders, media and other business leaders.
We urge you to make common sense changes to your platform to stem the spread of hate and extremism online. Every day you delay, Jews, our partners in other communities and our society pay the price, while you reap the profits. It needs to stop now.
Below are just some of the actions you can and should take immediately:
- Stop being a haven for extremist groups. Remove public and private groups focused on white nationalism and extremism, antisemitism, Holocaust denial and pernicious disinformation.
- Stop playing whack-a-mole. Undertake serious systemic change to better identify antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and other dangerous content so you can truly make a dent in the problem.
- Stop recommending hate to users. Heed your own internal findings that your algorithms, especially the recommendation features, are directly responsible for the growth of extremist groups online.
- Stop spreading disinformation that threatens the health of democracy and people. Remove misinformation and intimidation that threatens our voice as voters, our health and our rights. Every advertiser, every leader must be held to the same standard.
American Jews have stood up for the First Amendment, inclusive democracy and a moral compact against shielding, legitimizing or enabling hate. These values were enshrined in a famous exchange between the first US president and the Jews of Rhode Island in 1790 heralding the new American credo giving “To bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance…” In the spirit of those words, we implore you to live up to that ideal, to protect the safety, dignity and rights of our community and others.
Sincerely,
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Community Relations Council of Palm Beach County
Click here to see the full list of signers.
