“Over 80% of Americans feel responsible for being part of the solution to combating hate speech online. We know that over 65% of SMBs want to take an active role in combating hate speech online , but need tools and resources to guide their efforts,” said Bob Liodice, CEO, ANA. “With this initiative, the ANA will bring the industry together to educate and inspire consumers to take action. We will provide the industry with a free, turnkey solution that matches the brand safety protocols used by organizations engaged in the responsible advertising under GARM Our announcement today is a call to everyone who cares about online hate to join our efforts.
“WFA launched the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) to harness the power of marketers and the broader industry collective to drive positive change in online environments. In partnership with the “ANA, #EngageResponsibly advances this vital work of GARM to improve brand safety on the critical issue of hate speech online. Together, as an industry, we must come together to combat hate speech in line, not only for the good of our industry, but for the benefit of society,” said Stephan LorkeCEO, World Federation of Advertisers (WFA).
“GARMEit’s the aim is to bring together cross-sectoral stakeholders, including social media platforms, to address online safety,” said rob rakowitz, responsible for the initiative for the GARM. “Scaling an initiative like #EngageResponsibly allows SMEs and consumers to join our efforts focused on education and action, including how people and businesses can report and help to remove hate speech online. Importantly, we plan to work closely with GARM’s NGO partners and other NGOs across the This is a major step in our journey to continually reduce the existence of hateful content online.”
ANA will lead the #EngageResponsibly business system by leveraging the expertise of GARM, the Brand Safety Institute (BSI), and ANA’s Alliance for Inclusive Multicultural Marketing (AIMM) to deliver the following key actions.
At the heart of the efforts will be the development of robust educational resources to help SMEs and consumers understand the problem of hate speech online, its link to violence in the real world and how to take action, including using platforms’ existing tools for reporting hate speech online and, for SMEs, how to manage brand safety.
A corresponding campaign will be jointly launched to inspire SMEs and consumers to engage in education and take action. The campaign will leverage platform and brand channels to extend reach. Ongoing events and programming, beginning with a kick-off event, will bring together industry leaders, NGOs, big brands, SMEs, platforms, influencers and consumers to educate and take an active role in elimination of hate speech online.
To galvanize the industry and establish a strong foundation ahead of the education and campaign launch, ANA and GARM will ask companies to sign a pledge to provide support and concrete actions to combat hate speech online.
#EngageResponsibly is led by ANA and GARM, with Ann MukherjeeChairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pernod Ricard NA, and Ivan Pollardformer general Plant CMOs, serving as co-chairs. Pernod Ricard launched #EngageResponsibly in 2020 and made initial investments in solutions enabling marketers and consumers to work together with platforms to stop the spread of hate speech online.
“We’re proud to have launched #EngageResponsibly, and we’re thrilled to see ANA and GARM making this an industry-wide initiative,” said Ann Mukherjee, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pernod Ricard NA. “Hate speech online is not a hypothetical problem. Every day, thousands of hate-fueled conversations take place on social media. According to ADL, 35% of Americans have experienced online hate because of their racial, religious, or sexual identity. This is a huge threat to public health, especially for teenagers. As advertisers, we cannot ask people to engage with us on social platforms, then to absolve us of the responsibility of the hatred that they can live there.It is our return on responsibility.
Solving the problem at scale is at the heart of the newly expanded initiative. Piloted in the US, the ambition is to expand #EngageResponsibly in the future as the first globally scalable solution for major brands, SMBs and consumers to combat hate speech online. “Given their social media presence, SMBs provide a tremendous ecosystem to scale up efforts to dramatically reduce online hate,” said Ivan Pollard, former CMO of General Mills. “And we all know that passionate consumers have the ability to move mountains and change the world. Together, we will turn this initiative into a powerful global movement against hate speech online.”
“Marketers have a tremendous opportunity to make a difference for their brand, their business and the world. #EngageResponsibly offers brands the opportunity to drive positive change by reducing online hate speech and its harmful effects in the world real,” said Raja RajamnarMarketing and Communications Director, Mastercard.
“Brands and businesses of all sizes, as well as platforms and consumers, can all play a part in drastically reducing hate speech online. #EngageResponsibly empowers each of us to be part of the solution,” said declared Jacqui StephensonGlobal Marketing Manager, March Wrigley.
#EngageResponsibly is developed in collaboration with platforms – Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter and Snap – led by ANA within the GARM environment.
“The #EngageResponsibly program marks another step in the Global Alliance for Responsible Media’s continued progress to bring the industry together through action. We look forward to working together to educate consumers and small businesses on how to fight back. against online hate,” said Samantha StetsonVP Client Council and Industry Trade Relations, Facebook.
“Hate has no place on our platform. At TikTok, we continually work to maintain a supportive environment that allows our community to focus on what matters to them: being creative, finding community, and having fun. Our goal is to create a safe space where people support and support each other. We are excited to continue our partnership with GARM and have the opportunity to support an initiative like #EngageResponsibly,” said Julie de Bailliencourt, Head of Global Product Policy, TikTok.
“Responsibility is our number one priority, and we are committed to working with the industry to build a sustainable and healthy digital ecosystem for all. We have actively partnered with GARM since its inception, and we support their ongoing work to ensure safety in online via initiatives like #EngageResponsibly,” said Debbie WeinsteinVice President, Global Solutions, YouTube.
“Everyone has a role to play in keeping the digital ecosystem safe, whether it’s a business or an individual. It’s never been more important to come together and keep pulling building on the momentum we’ve achieved so far. We look forward to expanding on the work that’s being done to combat online hate and ensure people and brands feel safe in all digital places where they hang out,” said Meg HaleyGlobal Head, Revenue Product Specialists, Twitter.
“We’re proud to join this one-of-a-kind, industry-wide effort to #EngageResponsibly and unite around our shared commitment to fighting hate online. From the start, we tried to reflect to Snapchat’s architecture and to design our products to prioritize communication between close friends and prevent opportunities for unmoderated content. We believe that we are at a time when technology companies need to take stock of their policies and the design of their platforms to strengthen the ability to detect, We are grateful to GARM and ANA for their leadership and look forward to identifying ways in which we can all do our part to create safer and healthier environments for our communities.“, noted Nona Farahnik YadegarDirector, Platform Policy, Break.
ABOUT GARM
The Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) is an initiative led by WFA and brings together advertisers, agencies, media companies, platforms and industry organizations to improve digital safety. Members of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media recognize the role that advertisers can play in collectively striving to improve the safety of online environments. Together, they are collaborating with publishers and platforms to do more to combat harmful and misleading media environments; and to develop and implement a concrete set of actions, processes and protocols to protect brands. More than www.wfanet.org/garm
ABOUT ANA
The mission of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) is to drive the growth of professionals in marketing, brands and businesses, industry and humanity. ANA serves the marketing needs of 20,000 brands by leveraging the ANA 12-Point Growth Program, which has been endorsed by the Global CMO Growth Council. ANA members consist of U.S. and international companies, including client-side marketers, nonprofits, fundraisers, and marketing solution providers (data science and technology companies, advertising agencies, publishers, media companies, suppliers and sellers). The ANA creates champions for marketing growth by serving, educating and advocating for more than 50,000 industry members who collectively invest more than 400 billion dollars in marketing and advertising annually.
SOURCE Association of National Advertisers; Global Alliance for Responsible Media
