Millions of people spend hours a day on Facebook. And on Tuesday, the NAACP wanted all of them to log off from the social networking platform for the day.
The organization took to its website and Twitter page to call for a one-day boycott of not just Facebook, but also Instagram and the WhatsApp messaging platform, after report from a Senate committee on Monday said that Russia’s Internet Research Agency (IRA) used the social media outlets to manipulate and influence black voters in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
The NAACP said that in addition to calling for a daylong boycott of Facebook and its affiliates, it would return a donation for an undisclosed amount that it received from Facebook. In a statement, the NAACP said it was “reprehensible” how Facebook was used “for propaganda promoting disingenuous portrayals of the African American community.”
NAACP has returned a monetary donation we recently received from Facebook, and we are calling on supporters to log out of Facebook and Instagram on Tuesday, December 18. We implore you, our partners, friends, and supporters to join us. #LogOutFacebook pic.twitter.com/tOBKhnbRTW
— NAACP (@NAACP) December 17, 2018
The latest report on the IRA’s involvement in the 2016 election came from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The committee provided information to two research groups that then reported their findings to the Senate committee.
“This newly released data demonstrates how aggressively Russia sought to divide Americans by race, religion and ideology, and how the IRA actively worked to erode trust in our democratic institutions,” said Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., the committee chairman. “Most troublingly, it shows that these activities have not stopped.”