Selena Gomez is going straight to the source in the fight against online misinformation and hate speech…
The 28-year-old Mexican American singer/actress shared on Instagram Stories a direct message to Facebook leaders Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, calling them out for their lack of accountability.
Gomez, who has 193 million followers on Instagram (owned by Facebook) and tops 77 million on Facebook itself, asked Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder and CEO, and Sandberg, its chief operating officer, to start talking about misinformation and hate speech.
Gomez didn’t specify what information she classified as belonging to those categories, but called on Zuckerberg and Sandberg to shut down individuals and groups promoting it.
“Facebook and Instagram are being used to spread hate, misinformation, racism, and bigotry,” she wrote, days after a significant push by stars like Rosario Dawson, Kim Kardashian, Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Ruffalo, Dwyane Wade and Katy Perry promoted #StopHateforProfit by blacking out their social media activities.
“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.”
Gomez also pointed to the national election in her message. She’s a co-chair of “When We All Vote,” a claimed nonpartisan organization that encourages voter participation. Michelle Obama, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Shonda Rhimes are among its leaders.
“We cannot afford to have misinformation about voting,” Gomez said in her message. “There has to be fact-checking and accountability. Hope to hear back from you ASAP.”
Facebook has not yet publicly responded to Gomez.