by Michelle Gates Roberts, FAUSA, AWC Korea
Financing Fascism and Fundamentalism – Sounds like fun conversation, right??
Extremism has been rearing its ugly head for quite some time now. It seems like it’s everywhere, all the time. That’s because it is. It’s threatening a wide range of rights and
It’s. Not. Slowing. Down.
The panelists of this CSW69 session presented initial findings of joint research on how corporations – particularly Big Tech – finance the far right. The discussion included ways in which hatred is monetized online, turning divisive rhetoric into a source of income and power, and its impact on movements.
The ongoing process of sensitive personal data accumulation via Big Tech and a hate-profiteering business model is fueling their movement. Even if we don’t purchase anything, every click, every view, every like is sold to someone who is looking to profit from us – whether that’s a pair of shoes or sowing seeds of divisiveness with mis- and disinformation.
Thank you to the expert panelists:
- Bhumika Saraswati - Dalit organizer and photographer
- Lulu Barrera – Numun Fund
- Bhumika Muchhala, PhD – Third World Network
- Sofía Scasserra – Transnational Institute
- Naureen Shameem - Noor
- Maher Sattar – The Fuller Project
The session was moderated by Mona Eltawahy, Egyptian-American journalist and social commentator, and advisory board member of The Institute for Journalism and Social Change. I know it sounds like a pretty heavy topic with no hope for change with just one person’s actions, BUT, as individuals and collectively, there are things we can do:
- Take a tech break
- Take a look at the social media you participate in... perhaps move to Mastadon.
- Rebuild digital infrastructures to protect personal data, protect women and children, create positive algorithms.
- Push legislators. We need responsible corporate policies. It’s cowardly to say, “we’re not responsible for what’s posted on our site.”