MAN ON THE STREET: Should Facebook ban sexist pages?
If a petition on Change.org succeeds, pages on Facebook encouraging sexual violence will disappear.
The petition, called “Demand Facebook Remove Pages That Promote Sexual Violence,” is seeking 200,000 signatures to tell the social media leader to remove questionable pages. The petition says Facebook “could and should do more to stop them from popping up in the first place and to swiftly remove those that do exist.” The petition is 189,501 signatures strong as of Monday night.
A Nov. 5 article on The Daily Beast about the petition brought up “the enduring problem of misogyny online,” including the existence of comments against female journalists and bloggers.
The Red & Black asked students how serious misogyny is online.
FREDERICK WU: senior computer science major from Newnan. “I haven’t seen anything like that on Facebook or YouTube or any channels I go to. I think they’re around, but they’re not common.”
KELSEY BOSWELL: junior advertising major from Duluth. “I’ve never had any issues with it personally … You really have to censor yourself online, and so many people get offended by so many things.”
MOLLY RIGGS: junior biology major from Marietta. “I think these kinds of comments are everywhere, and the internet is a big source for saying things without people knowing who you are.”
CAMERON GREENE: freshman Spanish and finance major from Fayetteville. “Hate speech is never good, but on the same token, it shouldn’t interfere with free speech … Free speech shouldn’t be curbed at the expense of eliminating hate speech, but at the same time, don’t think I’m endorsing any sort of hatred."
