The Anti-Defamation League is making another move to enlist the tech industry in its
efforts to curb hate online.
The civil rights organization said on Monday it's opened the Center for Technology and Society, complete with an advisory board stacked with notable names like Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, Facebook Vice President of Product Guy Rosen, and Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe.
"Fifty years ago, extremists were hiding behind hoods and burning crosses. Today, they're hiding behind avatars and burning up Twitter," said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt in a statement. "It's a dangerous threat that is normalizing hate, dividing society, and bringing real-world violence and hate crimes to communities across the country."
These efforts come at a time when platforms are struggling to figure out what to do about hate and harassment online -- and as that hate is growing while people with similar worldviews digitally congregate. A 2016 study from George Washington University found that on Twitter alone, white nationalist groups have seen their followers grow by 600 percent since 2012. https://www.cnet.com/news/anti-defamation-league-taps-tech-giants-to-fight-hate/