Issue:

Muslim Advocates’ Farhana Khera Comments on Meeting with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey

WASHINGTON, DC — On Tuesday, Muslim Advocates Executive Director Farhana Khera met with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. The following is a statement from Farhana Khera about the meeting:

“During my meeting with Jack Dorsey, I thanked him for Twitter’s recent efforts pushing back on hate and disinformation and for having a policy explicitly banning content that dehumanizes people based on religion, but noted that this policy should also be expanded. These recent moves send a strong message about what the company will and will not allow on the platform and we look forward to hearing more from them about their progress on their policies.

I also shared with Mr. Dorsey that Twitter has been responsive to our concerns about specific pieces of anti-Muslim content that we have flagged over the years, and we hope this type of response and commitment from them continues. However, there is much more work that must be done because anti-Muslim hate and other forms of bigotry still thrive on Twitter and many of the worst offenders continue to run rampant. During our meeting, I told Mr. Dorsey that some of the largest and most active anti-Muslim hate groups continue to have a presence on his platform. I also raised examples of threatening tweets being sent to Muslim public officials like Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.

To stop the spread of hateful content, I asked Mr. Dorsey to regularly engage and consult with civil rights and advocacy groups and also undergo an independent civil rights audit. I appreciated the opportunity to share some of our concerns and I hope to keep working together to ensure the safety of all Twitter users because the kind of hate we see online puts lives in danger and should be wholly unacceptable.

Muslim Advocates is a member of Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council and has voiced concerns about anti-Muslim content on the platform, including President Trump’s conspiracy theories, hateful stereotypes and attacks on Muslim elected officials. Muslim Advocates also represented a Muslim politician who won a lawsuit against a man who threatened him via Twitter. Additionally, Muslim Advocates was a lead organizer behind the effort to get Facebook to conduct a civil rights audit and met with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Muslim Advocates is a national civil rights organization working in the courts, in the halls of power and in communities to halt bigotry in its tracks. We ensure that American Muslims have a seat at the table with expert representation so that all Americans may live free from hate and discrimination. 

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