Kim Kardashian has vowed to freeze her Facebook and Instagram accounts for 24 hours on Wednesday due to the proliferation of hate speech that she claims both platforms are doing little to combat.
Kardashian is the seventh most followed person on Instagram with 188 million followers and she has more than 30 million fans on Facebook.
With the American presidential election on the horizon, the #StopHateforProfit has gathered momentum, with celebrities like Kim, Leonardo DiCaprio, Sacha Baron Cohen and Jennifer Lawrence, as well as singer Katy Perry all throwing their weight behind it.
“I love that I can connect directly with you through Instagram and Facebook, but I can’t sit by and stay silent while these platforms continue to allow the spreading of hate, propaganda and misinformation,” Kardashian West wrote in a post published to multiple social media accounts Tuesday.
She continued, “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.”
Katy Perry wrote: ‘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.’
Comedy actress Amy Schumer told her followers: ‘Facebook not only looks the other way when it comes to organizing hate and violence. ‘Their algorithms recommend otherwise non-violent users to organize and join other hateful groups without a request being made.’
