In the News
Featured Op-Ed on CNN by CSW’s President Marc Ginsberg on oral arguments being presented to the Supreme Court and the fate of social media companies’ content immunity under Section 230 lay in the balance.
Read the article HERE.
On December 1, 2022, the town of Brigantine, New Jersey (a suburb of Atlantic City) hosted a community-wide event to unite against a recent antisemitic attack on the town by the notoriously antisemitic Goyim Defense League. Last August, hundreds of Goyim Defense League antisemitic flyers were dumped on the properties of Brigantine residents – leaving the
town bewildered why it was specifically targeted to incite antisemitic hatred.
Read about the event HERE.
Read news coverage HERE
Once again, major U.S. corporate digital ads are being contaminated by
antisemitic accounts on Twitter.
Today, CSW released the press release and letter to Elon Musk disclosing that CSW uncovered the recent appearance of a new “Goyim Defense League” (GDL) amplified Twitter account — which prior Twitter content filters prohibited.
Since mid-summer CSW has been investigating how Putin’s Ukraine mercenary army known as the Wagner Group have resorted to U.S. social media platforms to recruit and incite atrocities in Ukraine, often resorting to antisemitic tropes and far-right extremist propaganda.
Today, CSW issued a REPORT (and accompanying PRESS RELEASE )
detailing our findings. A link to the report is also embedded in the attached press release.
On October 4 the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear a case with
enormous implications for the federal content immunity accorded social media platforms.
It is the first time the Court granted certiorari in a case that will determine the extent of content immunity granted social media companies under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — the very provision which has consistently enabled social media companies to avoid any liability for
antisemitic or other forms of racist, radical extremist incitement resulting in death and injury.
The case: GONZALEZ vs. GOOGLE, has been working its way through the judicial system since 2016. CSW has served as advisers to the plaintiff’s counsel since the case was first filed.
Read more HERE.
In the run-up to tomorrow’s Jan 6 House Committee hearing examining ties between Donald Trump and domestic extremist groups, the Coalition for a Safer Web (CSW) launched an investigation into TRUTH Social – the social media site founded by former President Trump. The purpose of our review was to determine whether extremist groups implicated in the violence at the Capitol are active on TRUTH Social and comingling their accounts with Trump and his supporters’ digital ecosystem.
Based on our investigation it is readily apparent that neither Mr. Trump nor his TRUTH Social CEO, Devin Nunes have prevented extremist groups from gaining a secure foothold on the platform.
Read our findings HERE.
February 28, 2022
The Coalition for a Safer Web (CSW) expressed today its profound disappointment with the District Court of the Northern District of California’s dismissal of CSW’s lawsuit against Google.
In its opinion, the Court ruled that Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act (CDA) shields Google from any harm incurred by its customers due to Google’s own refusal to enforce its obligatory “Developer Program Policies (DPPs)” which all its mobile Play Store app developers must adopt.
These DPPs prohibit all Play Store mobile apps — such as Telegram — from promoting violence and inciting hatred against individuals or groups based on race, ethnic origin, or religion.
In its unprecedented lawsuit, CSW alleged that Google is knowingly harming its customers by refusing to suspend Telegram from Google’s Play Store for failing to enforce its DPPs. Google contractually binds telegram to abide by the DPPs in order to remain on Google’s Play Store. Telegram is a notorious fringe platform permitting extremists, terrorists, and racists to plot, plan, execute, and finance violent incitement against Jews and other minorities. Its extremist accounts are THE primary source of antisemitic and racist contamination on mainstream social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.
Why content immunity was accorded by the Court to Google for its failure to enforce the DPPs violated by Telegram is puzzling and was never an immunity granted by Congress under Section 230. The only issue before the Court was simply Google’s failure to enforce its obligatory DPPs on Telegram which its customers were party to.
CSW’s lawsuit was launched following an advocacy campaign urging Google CEO Sundar Pichai to remove Telegram from the Google Play Store until Telegram complied with Google’s DPPs.
In January of 2021, CSW filed a comparable twin lawsuit against Apple for enabling Telegram to remain in its “app store.” The Court has yet to hear this case, but we regrettably expect the same decision.
Amb. Marc Ginsberg stated:
“Google’s refusal to enforce its DPPs – which Google knows Telegram blatantly violates — renders Google a willing accomplice to Telegram’s antisemitic incitement and violence. What is the point of Google’s DPPs if it refuses to enforce them against a known purveyor of antisemitic terrorism?
The Court failed to address the principal issue of CSW’s lawsuit; namely DPP enforcement. Congress must act to amend Section 230 to end this type of judicial corporate coddling of companies such as Google granted at the expense of the safety and security of the American public.”
1.24.22 The Coalition for a Safer Web announced that, at CSW’s request, Twitter suspend the account of the antisemitic National Justice Party promoted account.
CSW launched a national social media campaign against NJP in November. Its leaders incited the 2017 Charlottesville “Right to Life” rally and promote
enactment of Nazi-style prohibitions and incitement against Jewish Americans and minority groups.
Purging NJP from social media is essential to prevent it from expanding its tentacles. CSW is the first social media watchdog organization to act against NJP even though its seditious antisemitic incitement is in plain site on
social media platforms.
Read the press release here.
CSW’s VP for Content Moderation, Eric Feinberg, and his research are part of this Inside Edition segment on Alison Parker’s Murder Video still up on social media.
Watch the segment here.
On the one year anniversary of the attack on the Capitol, CSW condemned Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and TELEGRAM for their failure to purge their platforms of extremist groups which incited and committed violence at the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.
Read the press release HERE.
CSW sent a letter to the House Energy & Commerce Committee supporting its pending legislation to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to restrict algorithm amplification which promotes extremism.
See the letter here.
CSW has issued the following press release calling on social media companies to immediately cease hosting the neo-Nazi National Justice Party on their platforms.
Read the release here.
The Coalition for a Safer Web (CSW), in partnership with the Digital Citizens Alliance (DCA), issued a groundbreaking expose: Cheating with COVID: Card Sellers Offering CDC Vaccine Cards and The Platforms Making It Possible.
In the Report CSW and DCA uncover a vast criminal network of underground vendors selling fraudulent vaccine cards to unvaccinated individuals, registering unvaccinated buyers into vaccine databases, and spreading anti-vax misinformation. Data bases of pharmaceutical companies administering vaccinations have been hacked and sensitive, private data of millions of Americans has been compromised as a result.
The Coalition for a Safer Web (CSW) (www.coalitionsw.org) lauds the courage of Frances Haugen, which confirms (once again) that Facebook’s management continuously lied about the “progress” it is making against hate speech, violence, and misinformation.
Unfortunately, her accusations reveal the latest in a long, long trail of scurrilous efforts by Facebook’s management to deceive Congress and the public boasts that it is succeeding to reduce the threat of incitement, hate and violence on Facebook and Instagram.
Read our press release HERE
CSW has been providing the WashPost, the US Capitol Police, the DC Metropolitan Police, and the Department of Homeland Security social media content relating to the planned DC and nationwide rallies to protest the jailing of felons arrested for committing violence at the Capitol
insurrection.
Read our Sept 14 report HERE
VP Eric Feinberg on Fox8 Cleveland on the proliferation of fake vaccination cards.
Watch the clip here.
CSW detailing how QAnon conspirators have been mining the Mike Lindell “Cyber Symposium” taking place this week in Sioux Falls, SD to promote more “Big Lie” conspiracies to support 2020 election fraud allegations.
What is noteworthy (as we monitor the proceedings) is the social media supporting cast comprised of QAnon conspirators and Trump activists hoping to use Lindell’s election fraud “evidence” to promote Trump “reinstatement” initiatives in September around the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
Read our press release HERE.
Since being banned by Facebook and Twitter from their platforms, Donald Trump has migrated his social media messaging to the encrypted mobile app known as “TELEGRAM” to perpetuate his “Big Lie” election fraud caper.
Read our latest on his continuing lies HERE.
CSW President Amb. Marc Ginsberg joined the Washington Journal to discuss the strengths and shortcomings of the Biden Administration’s new strategy aimed at combatting domestic terrorism.
Watch the interview HERE.
The Biden Administration unveiled today a new National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism.
As you may recall, both the White House and the Department of Homeland Security enlisted CSW’s assistance to prepare the Strategy.
It is a blueprint, but the devil is in the details and the tactics that will
be necessary to transform the plan into a measurable, sustainable initiative.
We are particularly concerned that the Strategy does not adequately address
the challenge posed by social media platforms as gateways to incite, inspire,recruit, and fund domestic terrorists.
You can read our full response here.
Within hours of the outbreak of the Israel/Hamas cross border conflict a torrent of pro-Hamas/pro-Palestinian social media lit up U.S. social media platforms condemning Israel’s retaliation against Hamas. Although a shaky ceasefire is holding for over two weeks, CSW has uncovered a foreign-based troll network still dumping bogus anti-Zionist/pro-Palestinian content onto U.S. social media platforms via the TELEGRAM mobile application – amplifying anti-Semitic content.
Read more HERE.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution looks at the role of social media in limiting the reach and growth of domestic terrorists, using CSW’s research from The Extremist Next Door report.
Read the article here.
The Coalition for a Safer Web (CSW) announced today that former (and the nation’s first) Secretary of Homeland Security — Governor Tom Ridge – will help lead CSW’s expanded nationwide plan to forge a new private/public sector Social Media Early Warning Center (Center).
Read the press release here.
CSW’s VP for Content Moderation, Eric Feinberg, joined The AM Show in New Zealand to discuss the Capitol Riot and why the US has to join the Christchurch call. See the segment here.
WASHINGTON DC, March 15, 2021
Our research found that the fraudulent sale of COVID-19 vaccines, which was identified by DCA and CSW in February, is readily available to the unknowing consumer despite calls for action by Facebook’s Advisory Board to address COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and related dangers
Social media platforms continue to fail removing illegal offers of opioids, steroids and COVID-19 “vaccines.” after they have been alerted of specific posts and long past when they have made public pledges to do a better job.
CSW & DCA researchers searched for old posts and previous users who were attempting to conduct illegal activity. In some cases, the research teams found accounts and similar posts from the same users, whose posts were taken down years earlier, still up on Facebook & YouTube. In some cases, the research teams found current accounts and similar posts from the same users who were identified years earlier.
What we found:
- Criminal activity and/or illicit activity highlighted in previous research, such as the selling of opioids, steroids, and malware, can still be found easily today.
- Many videos and posts shared in prior CSW and DCA reports and/or with media contacts are still available across numerous social media platforms.
- Facebook & YouTube enjoy advertising revenue from premium, respected brands running next to videos and/or posts for illegal and/or illicit item, including ads from Proctor & Gamble. The advertising industry’s Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) is supposed to put an end to brand advertising appearing alongside illegal activities, but obviously is failing to do so. CSW continues to perform the work which GARM — with all its clout with social media and financial resources — should be doing.
- The platforms allow for communication between drug pushers and potential buyers. Whether by containing phone numbers and emails in videos and/or posts or allowing for conversations to happen in chats.
- The platforms’ algorithms amplify connectivity between potential buyers and sellers of illegal and/or illicit items. CSW & DCA researchers, acting as potential buyers looking for drugs, showed that when they look for drugs on Instagram, Instagram will in turn begin directing drug sellers back to the potential buyer.
- When outed by media outlets, platforms will often take down specific videos, but not address the larger problem. This leaves consumers vulnerable to similar, or sometimes even the same scams, that inspired the news coverage in the first place.
Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, President of the Coalition for a Safer Web, added:
On January 17, 2021 CSW sued Apple in federal court, demanding that they remove Telegram from their app store for failing to respond to violent, extremist content on its platform.
Our press release can be found here…
You can read about the suit in the Washington Post here…
And you can see the filing here.
In July 2020, CSW President Marc Ginsberg wrote to Apple CEO Tim Cook about the dangerous role Telegram plays as a communication tool for white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and other extremist groups, asking him to hold Telegram accountable for their content. In light of recent events and the role Telegram played in facilitating the organization and communication of groups involved in the assault at the Capitol, we are republishing the letter here.
As more is revealed in the days following the attempted insurrection at the US Capitol, CSW experts are providing research, insights, and analysis to the major news outlets.
Amb. Marc Ginsberg quoted in Vox on the role of police bias...
On the timing of Facebook’s Trump ban (too late)…
In Politico, how the actions at the Capitol are upping pressure on Congress to do something…
and in Salon, how Facebook still played a large role in the riots despite the Parler backlash.
CSW’s President Marc Ginsberg in the Washington Post on how plans for Wednesday’s assault on the Capitol happened in plain view on social media and law enforcement ignored warnings from watch groups, including CSW. Read it here.
CSW has been monitoring the “off the radar” far right social media platforms
(Parler, MeWe, Rumble, Telegram, etc.) for many days since our first press release on January 3rd warning about potential violence in Washington which we had uncovered on these sites.
Sadly, our warnings went largely unheeded.
Today’s twin decisions by Twitter and Facebook to boot Trump off of their platforms are small consolation for what we continue to eye on social media sites loyal to Trump and his most ardent and cult-like extremist followers:
unyielding and accelerated incitement to more political violence and threats
to the lives of Congressmen and leading politicians following yesterday’s
Capitol attack.
The Coalition for a Safer Web issued the following press release outlining its investigation — as reported in the January 1 and January 5 editions of the Washington Post, into the role of extremist social media platforms and a website tied to President Trump to incite hate and violence in Washington tonight and tomorrow (January 5 & 6). Read more here.
CSW announces today a press release detailing how right wing and fringe social media platforms, such as PARLER, are undermining public support for the pending national anti-Covid vaccination program.
These are sinister efforts, orchestrated in many instances by right-wing Trump supporters who are directly attacking the efficacy of the vaccines and President-elect Biden’s policies and appointees. Read more here.
Several weeks ago the Coalition for a Safer Web commenced an investigation into the new pro-Trump social media network —
PARLER. We turned our findings over to the Washington Post.
PARLER is yet another example of social media organizations failing in their
most basic duty and responsibility to protect the public — even with the most
lax content moderation policies. There is no parental control whatsoever on
PARLER to prevent children under 18 from accessing it.
The Coalition for a Safer Web issued a press release today
detailing how Trump-supporting white supremacist groups are principally
responsible for planning this Saturday’s “Million MAGA Rally” in Washington,
D.C.
Proud Boys and other white supremacist anti-Semitic neo-Nazi groups have
created extensive social media operations to support the march, instigated by
Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud. A counter rally is also planned by
anarchist antifa supporters who have repeatedly clashed with Trump white
nationalist groups in other American cities in recent months.
The failure of President Trump to condemn white supremacy and the Proud Boys was met with a social media explosion by the group as validation. CSW’s President in the Washington Post.
CSW President Amb. Marc Ginsberg testified on Capitol Hill in front of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce regarding the role of social media companies in mainstreaming extremist content. See the hearing here.
CSW’s VP for Content Moderation Eric Feinberg interviews on Scripps TV about the role of social media in spreading misinformation and ways to combat the spread during the current pandemic. Learn more here.
CSW President Amb. Marc Ginsberg and Vice-President Eric Feinberg look into the continuing prevalence of QAnon conspiracists on social media platforms and expose how they are evading social media moderators. Read the details here.
Andy Parker writes for CNN about his fight to take down from YouTube and Facebook the brutal murder of his daughter on live TV and the role of Section 230. Read more here
As more major U.S. corporate advertisers join the Facebook “Stop Hate for Profit” ad boycott, what happens when the boycott ends? CSW President Marc Ginsberg argues that a Social Media Standards Board is the only answer to social media’s problems. Read his Op-Ed in The Hill here.
CSW is calling on companies to boycott Telegram and remove it from their app stores as it becomes the preferred messaging app among extremists promoting violence in the US. Read the press release and see the evidence here.
CSW issued a press release criticizing President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) on social media censorship. Although CSW supports legislation to eliminate Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, Trump’s battle with Twitter completely ignores the real dangers of Section 230 to the American public. Read the release here
CSW announces it has uncovered the back door route utilized to circumvent restrictions against the spread of the notorious “Plandemic” video, as reported in today’s Washington Post.
Posts selling unproven drug therapies to treat the novel coronavirus continued to surface on social networks over the last week, despite the companies’ promises to promote public health and crack down on misleading information. CSW’s Eric Feinberg in the Washington Post.
According to research done by CSW and Digital Citizens Alliance, Facebook is still advertising masks for sale during the COVID-19 pandemic despite pledging to remove them. Read and watch more on CNN.
CSW is urging the US Government to impose additional economic sanctions on Russia for harboring Rinaldo Nazzaro — the American terrorist neo-Nazi leader of “The Base.”
Facebook ramps up outreach efforts as scrutiny and criticism mounts and trust is at an all time low. Read about CSW’s call for the NFL to not show their commercial while providing havens to anti-Semitic groups here
The sale of illicit wares across social media platforms is raising questions about how well the companies are policing their sites. Read Eric Feinberg in the Washington Post
Outside monitor shows ads run adjacent to terrorist-themed posts, which is nearly impossible to control. Eric Feinberg quoted in AdAge
Profile on CSW’s Dan Shefet. Listen and read at NPR
Presentation given by Amb. Ginsberg and Eric Feinberg to the National Assembly of Rabbis
Instagram isn’t just for cute dog photos and catching up with your friends. Eric Feinberg quoted in the Washington Post
contact@coalitionsw.org
The Homer Building
601 13th St, NW
Ste 1150N
Washington, DC 20005