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sumofus
Brazil's insurrection directly aided by tech platforms, say campaigners
Researchers from SumOfUs had warned of attempted coup for months as platforms like Facebook, TikTok and Telegram allowed anti-democratic movement to flourish
Jan 09, 2023
Global campaign group SumOfUs has accused social media platforms including Facebook, TikTok and Telegram of enabling yesterday’s assault on Brazil’s Congress and called for an immediate investigation into their role in the crisis.
The 20-million strong citizens’ network said the companies had failed to heed months’ of warnings that their platforms were helping to grow an anti-democratic movement in the run up to the Brazilian presidential election, including by directing users towards pro-coup content.
SumOfUs researchers have been monitoring Brazil’s social media landscape since September 7 and, in a series of reports, highlighted the extent of electoral disinformation and violent content in circulation. Along with Brazilian and international partners, the group repeatedly called on social media companies to take immediate steps to tackle the problem in order to prevent a repeat of the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol. Key findings included:
- On TikTok, five out of eight of the top search results for the keyword “ballots” were for terms such as “rigged ballots” and “ballots being manipulated”;
- Facebook and Instagram directed thousands of users who entered basic search terms about the election to groups challenging the integrity of the vote;
- Facebook was actively approving harmful ads that sowed doubt in the election results, including ads that specifically called for a military coup. These problematic ads racked up 615,000 impressions;
- YouTube allowed Bolsonaro's Stop the Steal narrative to go viral on its platform, with videos promoting this conspiracy theory gaining more than 22 million views, and 2.3 million Facebook interactions.
"This assault on Brazilian democracy can come as no surprise to social media executives, who were warned time and again that their platforms, tools and algorithms were directly aiding a violent uprising in Brazil. We’ve now seen this happen in two of the world’s major democracies — if governments fail to respond, more will inevitably pay the price."SumOfUs is calling for a rigorous investigation into yesterday’s actions, including into the role of social media platforms in facilitating the attack on Brazilian democracy.
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Plurality of Americans Oppose Israel's Annexation Plans
By 44-36 margin, Americans believe Trump should not support annexation, showing reckless land grab threatens re-election prospects.
Jun 30, 2020
A new poll by campaigning group SumOfUs with polling company Lucid shows that just 36% of Americans support Israel's plans to annex more areas in the West Bank. 44% believe Trump should not greenlight the plan.
The poll of over 4000 Americans shows that nearly a quarter of Republicans and 60% of Democrats oppose the annexation.
Support for Israel has been falling among Americans for some time now, and the new poll indicates that it has now been overtaken by opposition nationwide, across many demographics.
Among those who identify as Jewish, opposition was 43% against just 40% in favor; similarly, among those who identify as Christian, 42% oppose Trump giving the greenlight and just 38% support.
Far from galvanizing support, the Trump administration's "Deal of the Century" -- which would allow Israel to forcefully annex more West Bank territory -- appears to have led to unprecedented levels of opposition.
The Trump administration has been in discussions about how to respond, and one likely concern is how a greenlight would be received by voters so close to the election. With Trump's foreign policy in shambles, this new data suggests that Trump's blessing could be an election risk after all.
Emma Ruby-Sachs, the Executive Director of SumOfUs said: "Greenlighting this senseless plan is not just a betrayal of longstanding US foreign policy on Israel-Palestine, but would be a strategic disaster so close to the elections. Americans are tired of being the global bully and this could come through in the polls in November."
Stefanie Fox, the Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace also elaborated:
"It's fitting that this poll should come out the same day as Rep. Ocasio-Cortez led a congressional letter with 12 signers, breaking with decades of unconditional US support for the Israeli military. The debate in Congress reflects the choice we all have as Americans: support an apartheid system or fight for a future where all people of Palestine/Israel have full rights, equality, and freedom. A growing plurality of American Jews know there is only one right side of history. This polling reflects that we are an integral part of the movement fighting for Palestinian freedom."
Results of the poll can be found here.
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Over 130,000 Demand Improved Bee Friendly Pesticide Testing Standards From EU
Global consumer group SumOfUs continues to push European governments to protect bees from killer pesticides
Dec 06, 2018
A petition from SumOfUs, a global consumer group, is demanding that governments throughout the EU protect bees by voting for higher standards regulating toxic pesticides. In less than two weeks, EU member states will meet in Brussels to rethink the process by which pesticides like neonicotinoids are approved. The vote would take into account a greater range of ways that pesticides harm bees, as set out in the EU's proposed 'Bee Guidance' document. SumOfUs' petition argues that there is widespread support for higher standards when legalizing harmful chemicals in pesticides across Europe, defying the interests of pesticide industry lobbyists from companies like Bayer and Dow Chemical. The petition has been signed by over 130,000 EU residents.
VIEW THE PETITION HERE: https://www.sumofus.org/bee-guidance
Earlier this year, under public pressure from SumOfUs members and beekeepers across Europe, the EU started a trial using these higher 'Bee Guidance' standards, which led to a historic ban on three bee-harming neonicotinoid pesticides, imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam. The campaigners are calling for this to become the standard.
SumOfUs members and environmental activists have cited the following concerns to the EU regarding the impact of pesticides on bees, that these new higher standards would take into account, including:
- The long-term effects of pesticides on bees and their colonies
- The effects of exposure to low concentrations of pesticides
- The cumulative effects of exposure to multiple pesticides
- And to only approve pesticides as a last resort, when all non-chemicals options have failed
"We all rely on bees to pollinate fruit, vegetables, and crops. All across the world industrial pesticides, climate change and urbanisation are pushing bees to the brink -- and unless our governments and the EU take concrete steps to save the bees, this trend shows no sign of reversing," said Rebecca Falcon, Campaign Manager at SumOfUs. "The current method for testing pesticides is inadequate and ignores many ways that bees can be harmed. To save the bees, it's imperative that our governments radically improve the system and adopt advice from scientists that puts harm done to bees front and centre and we have to act now."
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Consumer Watchdog on Amazon's New $15 Minimum Wage
SumOfUs says Amazon still must do more to combat worker abuses
Oct 02, 2018
This morning, Amazon announced that it would be increasing the minimum wage for all US employees to $15 per hour, more than double the current federal minimum wage. The new rate will go into effect on November 1st, covering all of Amazon's full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees in the US. Earlier this year, Amazon, run by the world's richest man, Jeff Bezos, was criticized after revealing that its workers median pay was only $28,446.
In reaction to the news, Sijal Nasralla, a campaigner for SumOfUs, an international consumer watchdog organization, issued the following statement:
"Amazon's announcement this morning that it would begin paying all of its US workers a minimum of $15 per hour is a huge win for all working people, and especially Amazon workers. This would not have been possible without the tireless campaigning of fast food workers, Amazon workers, and members of Fight for $15 who have made fair, liveable wages, and dignity in work a top priority and brought this issue out of the shadows and into the national spotlight.
"While Amazon increasing the minimum wage for its US workers is a good thing, the overall treatment of Amazon workers must change as well. Unrealistic productivity goals, worker deaths, reports of workers being afraid to use the bathroom, and reports of suicide show that Amazon's worker abuses extend far beyond wages and into company practices as a whole. Moreover, Amazon contractor workers still lack the basic protections and wages that Amazon is now extending to its US employees.
"Amazon made a huge step forward today, but there is still a lot more to be done until Amazon can say without question that its workers are paid fairly and treated with the dignity that they deserve."
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