The sanctimony of the celebrity Facebook boycott

Kim Kardashian West is the latest in a long line of celebrities, including Katy Perry, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, to freeze their social media accounts in order to protest against the spread of ‘hate, propaganda and misinformation’. But while the #StopHateForProfit campaign has no shortage of famous people signing up, it won’t be long before the same celebrities return to social media; the latest campaign lasts for just 24 hours. So is this really about stopping hate or is a bid to generate some easy publicity? It’s hard not to be sceptical.

That’s not to say, of course, that the campaign isn’t a worthy cause. Created in June, its aim is to put pressure on Facebook and Instagram to do more to stop the spread of hate speech and fake news. The organisation describes itself as a ‘diverse and growing coalition’ that wants to ‘raise awareness of Facebook’s harmful impact on our society,’ and demands that ‘Facebook enact critical changes’ before the November election.