MUMBAI: On the heels of rioters in support of President Donald Trump storming the United States Capitol, Selena Gomez has directed her discontent toward social media.
The star issued a message to executives for Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube on the evening of Jan. 6, hours after the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. was breached by a swarm of rioters protesting the results of the 2020 presidential election. As they broke through barricades, smashed windows and made their way into the building, the Senate and House of Representatives chambers were evacuated, halting a joint session of Congress to count the Electoral College votes and officially declare the results of the election.
“Today is the result of allowing people with hate in their hearts to use platforms that should be used to bring people together and allow people to build community,” the “Rare” singer tweeted. “Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Jack Dorsey, Sundar Pichai, Susan Wojcicki—you have all failed the American people today, and I hope you’re going to fix things moving forward.”
Gomez’s candid statement to social media leaders comes as others have urged Twitter to delete Trump’s account. The president has faced consequences on the platform for recent posts, including Twitter removing several of his tweets. One of those tweets included a video of Trump repeating false claims of a fraudulent election and calling the rioters “very special.” Twitter and Facebook have since temporarily suspended posts to his accounts as a result of website policy violations.
. @Facebook, @Instagram, @Twitter, @Google, Mark Zuckerberg, @SherylSandberg, @jack, @Sundarpichai, @SusanWojcicki pic.twitter.com/df3ZLR5Ruk
— Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) January 7, 2021
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This is not the first time the singer has spoken out against social media platforms. In late December, she slammed Facebook, questioning why disinformation about coronavirus and vaccines was allegedly spreading on its platforms and urged them to take action.
Facebook responded in a statement “We are committed to reaching as many people as possible with accurate information about vaccines, and launched partnerships with WHO and UNICEF to do just that,” the company said. “We’ve banned ads that discourage people from getting vaccines and reduced the number of people who see vaccine hoaxes verified by the WHO and the CDC.”
“We also label Pages and Groups that repeatedly share vaccine hoaxes, lower their posts in News Feed, and do not recommend them to anyone,” the group continued. “We continue to remove accounts and content that violate our policies and are the only company to work with over 80 fact-checking organizations around the world.”
Earlier in the month, she accused Facebook and Instagram of “tolerating” hate after the platforms were notified of pages selling racist products along with calls for them to be removed. She had previously reached out to Zuckerberg and Sandberg via Instagram direct message. “Facebook and Instagram are being used to spread hate, misinformation, racism, and bigotry,” she wrote to them, according to Deadline. “I am calling you both to HELP STOP THIS. Please shut down groups and users focused on spreading hate speech, violence and misinformation. Our future depends on it.”
