I understand that your company will be voting at Google's Annual Shareholder Meeting. I request that you vote in favor of Proposal 12, which asks Google to explain how it manages hate speech and fabricated content claims internally, and stop funding sites that contribute to white supremacist violence.
Why is this important?
There is a growing wave of white supremacist hate crimes unfolding across the country... in Portland, OR where two people were killed following an Islamophobic attack...in Manhattan, NY where a self-proclaimed white supremacist stabbed a Black man with a sword...in Grays Harbor, WA where a driver of a pickup truck intentionally ran down two Quinault tribal members at a campground, killing one and injuring the other. Communities across much of America are grappling with how best to unite against bigotry and racism.
Meanwhile, Google--one of America's largest companies--is enabling networks of white supremacists to grow and thrive online. Rather than ending its business ties with racist and extremist websites that promote hate speech, recent policy changes from Google now allow extremist sites to keep collecting ad money on some pages while spreading hate speech on others.
That's why ahead of Google's annual stockholder meeting on June 7th, a massive social media campaign from Sleeping Giants is asking Google's three biggest stockholders --Vanguard, Fidelity and Blackrock -- to hold Google accountable for funding sites that promote hate speech and contribute to white supremacist violence, such as Breitbart.
Funding online hate speech is not a responsible business practice. Let's ask Google's largest shareholders to commit to vote in favor of Proposal 12 and help us hold the company accountable.
