American Federation of Teachers Joins #StopHateforProfit Initiative

WASHINGTON—The American Federation of Teachers announced it is signing on in support of the #StopHateForProfit initiative, which was launched last month with the goal of addressing hate and misinformation on Facebook. The initiative is made up of hundreds of key civil rights organizations, religious entities, philanthropies and other nonprofit organizations. #StopHateForProfit launched with a coalition of nonprofit organizations calling on the for-profit business community to pause advertising on Facebook to help send the message that Facebook must take commonsense steps to address hate and misinformation. More than 900 companies, from global brands like Unilever, Starbucks and Honda, have stepped up to pause advertising on Facebook in response.

AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in support of the initiative:

“The First Amendment was meant to enable freedom, not to monetize hate. As our country reckons with the pervasive role that hate speech, misinformation and violence play in our culture, we must recognize the actors that allow that ugliness to persist, and we must work to combat it. We can put a check on the platforms that spread conspiracy theories about COVID-19; that encourage violence against people of color, LGBTQ people and Muslims; and that share blatant mistruths about voting and democracy. All we ask is that Facebook’s policies reflect a minimum level of enforcement against hatred, violence and harassment—content that continues to flourish on its platform and cause irreparable damage to our communities, our elections and our way of life.”