Sleeping Giants Explained

Sleeping Giants
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Founders:Matt Rivitz, Nandini Jammi
Founding Location:United States
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Sleeping Giants is a social media activism organization aiming to pressure companies into removing advertisements from several conservative news outlets by publicly accusing them of malpractices such as misinformation and hate speech.[1] The campaign started in November 2016,[2] shortly after Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 United States presidential election, with the launch of a Twitter account aiming to boycott Breitbart News.[3] [4] The campaign has sections in Australia,[5] Brazil,[6] Canada, France and Germany.[7]

The American campaign operated anonymously until The Daily Caller identified freelance copywriter Matt Rivitz as the founder, a story confirmed by Rivitz.[8] Shortly afterward, a New York Times profile of Rivitz and freelance copywriter and marketing consultant Nandini Jammi said the two ran the campaign's Twitter account "along with other still anonymous contributors".[9] Other reports identified Jammi as "co-founder".[10] [11] Jammi later left Sleeping Giants, saying that Rivitz "gaslighted me out of the movement we built together".[12] [13]

Campaign against Breitbart News

The organization primarily operates from its Twitter account, and also has a Facebook account.

As of February 2017, 820 companies had joined the campaign and stopped advertising on Breitbart News, according to statistics provided by the organization. By May 2017, thousands of advertisers had stopped advertising with Breitbart. The list of advertisers includes Allstate, AT&T, Autodesk, BMW, Deutsche Telekom, HP Inc., Kellogg's, Lenovo, Lyft, Visa, Vimeo, Nest, and Warby Parker.[14] [15] [16]

The Canadian government also stopped advertising on Breitbart News after declaring that its content "did not align with the Government's Code of Value and Ethics". Sleeping Giants' strategy combines traditional approaches to pressure advertisers with direct online activism, aiming to recruit and mobilize a large population of social media users. According to Slate, Sleeping Giants' strategy is similar to the one adopted in 2014 by the Gamergate movement against Gawker Media.[17]

Breitbart News responded with a campaign to boycott Kellogg's products.[18]

Other campaigns

Sleeping Giants was involved in the campaign pressuring advertisers to drop The O'Reilly Factor after the discovery of five sexual harassment settlements by host Bill O'Reilly and Fox News, which resulted in the show's cancellation.[19] The group also participated in organizing the boycott of The Ingraham Angle and pressured social networks to drop Alex Jones.[20]

Since May 2017, the Canadian section has used the same methods to persuade advertisers to remove ads from Rebel News, a Canadian far-right media website.[21] [22]

The French section also campaigns in a similar manner with regard to the French far-right website .[23] [24]

An Australian section named Sleeping Giants Oz was established in August 2017. In August 2018, Sleeping Giants Oz called on advertisers to boycott Sky News Australia after it broadcast an interview with Blair Cottrell, an Australian far-right extremist.[25]

A Brazilian section, Sleeping Giants Brasil, was established in May 2020.[26] [27] Sleeping Giants Brasil gained traction against Jornal da Cidade On-line, Conexão Política and Brasil Sem Medo, right-wing and conservative outlets which support Jair Bolsonaro.[28] They also tried to defund Olavo de Carvalho's YouTube channel and online courses. Consequently PayPal decided to remove their services from Carvalho's online seminars[29] upon violations of their terms and conditions of use due to his inflammatory rhetoric, polemic remarks and hate speech.[30] [31] [32]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. News: Farhi . Paul . 2017-09-22 . The mysterious group that’s picking Breitbart apart, one tweet at a time . en-US . . 2020-10-05 . 0190-8286 . September 22, 2017 . https://archive.today/20170922150522/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-mysterious-group-thats-picking-breitbart-apart-one-tweet-at-a-time/2017/09/22/df1ee0c0-9d5c-11e7-9083-fbfddf6804c2_story.html?utm_term=.4f34a5d80e78 . live .
  2. News: Tech companies' newest cause celebre? Boycott Breitbart . Kerr . Dara . February 3, 2017 . CNET . November 21, 2018 . June 11, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190611084108/https://www.cnet.com/news/boycott-breitbart-lyft-hewlett-packard-t-mobile-autodesk-uber-amazon/ . live .
  3. News: How to Destroy the Business Model of Breitbart and Fake News . Kennedy . Pagan . January 7, 2017 . . November 21, 2018 . 0362-4331 . September 18, 2017 . https://archive.today/20170918023712/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/opinion/sunday/how-to-destroy-the-business-model-of-breitbart-and-fake-news.html . live .
  4. News: These Protesters Are Hitting Trump Where It Actually Hurts . The Nation . May 23, 2017 . Mattea . Kramer . November 21, 2018 . 0027-8378 . December 13, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191213150432/https://www.thenation.com/article/protesters-hitting-trump-actually-hurts/ . dead .
  5. Web site: 2018-11-28 . Sleeping Giants Oz: How an anonymous Twitter account took on Sky News . 2022-11-11 . . en-AU . June 25, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200625222221/https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/how-sleeping-giants-oz-took-on-sky-news/10563792 . live .
  6. Web site: Mann . Richard . 2020-05-24 . Rapidly Growing, Sleeping Giants Movement Annoys Bolsonarist Shock Troops . 2020-09-20 . The Rio Times . en-US . October 27, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201027215407/https://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-politics/rapidly-growing-sleeping-giants-movement-annoys-bolsonarist-shock-troop-and-government/ . live .
  7. Web site: Wirminghaus . Niklas . 2017-02-27 . Keine Werbung auf Breitbart – Initiative "Sleeping Giants" kommt nach Deutschland . No advertising on Breitbart – "Sleeping Giants" initiative comes to Germany . 2020-11-28 . Gründerszene Magazin . de . October 26, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201026154453/https://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/sleeping-giants-breitbart-deutschland . live .
  8. Web site: The Daily Caller Names Founder of Sleeping Giants, Which Organized Breitbart Advertiser Boycotts . Adweek . Patrick . Coffee . July 17, 2018 . November 21, 2018 . September 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200915070154/https://www.adweek.com/agencies/the-daily-caller-names-founder-of-sleeping-giants-which-organized-breitbart-advertiser-boycotts/ . live .
  9. Web site: Revealed: The People Behind an Anti-Breitbart Twitter Account . The New York Times . Sapna Maheshwari . July 9, 2020 . October 31, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201031034248/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/business/media/sleeping-giants-breitbart-twitter.html . live .
  10. Web site: Swant. Marty. As Civil Rights Groups Ask Marketers To Boycott Facebook, Outdoor Brands Pause Spending. 2020-07-10. Forbes. en. July 10, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200710193444/https://www.forbes.com/sites/martyswant/2020/06/19/as-civil-rights-groups-ask-marketers-to-boycott-facebook-outdoor-brands-pause-spending/. live.
  11. Web site: Crowley. James. 2019-11-05. PayPal to cut off donations to right-wing YouTuber Stefan Molyneux following social media divestment campaign. 2021-01-11. Newsweek. en. January 3, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210103043631/https://www.newsweek.com/alt-right-youtuber-cut-off-paypal-donations-1469936. live.
  12. Web site: I’m leaving Sleeping Giants, but not because I want to . Medium . Nandini . Jammi . July 9, 2020 . July 9, 2020 . July 9, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200709232349/https://medium.com/@nandoodles/im-leaving-sleeping-giants-but-not-because-i-want-to-d9c4f488642 . live .
  13. Web site: Nash. Charlie. 2020-07-10. Sleeping Giants Apologizes to Woman of Color Co-Founder 'Gaslighted' Out of Org. 2020-11-24. Mediaite. en. November 22, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201122131930/https://www.mediaite.com/politics/sleeping-giants-apologizes-after-woman-of-color-co-founder-accuses-head-of-gaslighting-her-out/. live.
  14. Web site: Shopify Won't Remove Breitbart's Online Shop, Claiming Free Speech . Quittner . Jeremy . February 9, 2017 . Fortune.com . November 21, 2018 . September 11, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180911160011/http://fortune.com/2017/02/09/shopify-wont-remove-breitbarts-online-shop-claiming-free-speech/ . live .
  15. Web site: Various Companies, Canadian Government Pull Ads From 'Breitbart News' . Guaglione . Sara . February 3, 2017 . MediaPost . November 21, 2018 . December 16, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201216073158/https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/294422/various-companies-canadian-government-pull-ads-fr.html . live .
  16. News: Breitbart Takes Aim at Kellogg in Ad Dispute . Perlberg . Steven . December 1, 2016 . November 21, 2018 . 0099-9660 . Wall Street Journal . December 9, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181209005444/https://www.wsj.com/articles/breitbart-takes-aim-at-kellogg-in-ad-dispute-1480552446 . live .
  17. News: "Sleeping Giants" Is Borrowing Gamergate's Tactics to Attack Breitbart . Nwanevu . Osita . December 14, 2016 . November 21, 2018 . 1091-2339 . Slate . October 27, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201027215335/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/12/sleeping-giants-campaign-against-breitbart.html . live .
  18. News: Breitbart declares war on Kellogg's after cereal brand pulls advertising from site . Woolf . Nicky . November 30, 2016 . November 21, 2018 . 0261-3077 . The Guardian . January 18, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210118011503/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/30/breitbart-news-kelloggs-advertising-boycott-alt-right . live .
  19. News: How a social media campaign helped drive Bill O'Reilly out of Fox News . David . Pierson . April 21, 2017 . . November 21, 2018 . November 21, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181121203928/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-oreilly-social-media-20170420-story.html . live .
  20. Book: Gupta, Anika . How to Handle a Crowd . 2020 . Tiller Press . 978-1-9821-3231-6 . 98.
  21. News: Rebel Media Has Lost 300 Advertisers In Past 3 Months: Group . Daniel . Tencer . August 17, 2017 . Huffington Post . November 21, 2018 . August 12, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200812074847/https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/08/17/rebel-media-has-lost-300-advertisers-in-past-3-months-group_a_23081721/ . live .
  22. News: Quan . Douglas . 2017-05-24 . Anonymous Twitter group confronts companies whose ads appear on Rebel Media website . en . . 2022-11-11 . May 5, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240505032030/https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/anonymous-twitter-group-confronts-companies-whose-ads-appear-on-rebel-media-website . live .
  23. News: Jeanticou . Romain . August 30, 2017 . Boulevard Voltaire, le site fondé par Robert Ménard, lâché par ses annonceurs . French . Boulevard Voltaire, the site founded by Robert Ménard, dropped by its advertisers . November 21, 2018 . October 21, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201021111738/https://www.telerama.fr/medias/boulevard-voltaire,-le-site-fonde-par-robert-menard,-lache-par-ses-annonceurs,n5167380.php . live .
  24. Web site: Plottu . Pierre . 2019-12-02 . Après CNews, Valeurs actuelles est la nouvelle cible des Sleeping Giants . After CNews, Current Values is the new target of Sleeping Giants . 2022-11-11 . . fr-FR . November 11, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221111012744/https://www.slate.fr/story/184761/collectif-activistes-sleeping-giants-valeurs-actuelles-discours-haine . live .
  25. Web site: Zhou . Naaman . 2018-08-07 . American Express pulls advertising from Sky News after far-right extremist interview . 2022-11-11 . . en . November 12, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221112100120/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/aug/07/advertisers-urged-to-pull-campaigns-from-sky-news-after-far-right-extremist-interview . live .
  26. Web site: Tsavkko . Raphael . Garcia . 2020-06-19 . Anonymous Twitter accounts in Brazil are pressuring advertisers to drop conservative media campaigns . 2020-09-17 . Business Insider . en . September 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200915070210/https://www.insider.com/sleeping-giants-brasil-borrowing-us-tactic-for-fighting-misinformation-2020-6 . live .
  27. Web site: Alves . Soraia . 2020-05-21 . Sleeping Giants Brasil: iniciativa faz empresas retirarem anúncios de sites com fake news . Sleeping Giants Brasil: initiative makes companies remove ads from sites with fake news . 2022-11-11 . B9 . pt-br . May 5, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240505032030/https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=Soalves&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1263157309963993088&lang=pt&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.b9.com.br%2F126467%2Fsleeping-giants-brasil-anuncios-fake-news%2F&sessionId=9d8ac3113905ec942044837847437e5ed5a8fab6&siteScreenName=brains9&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px . live .
  28. Web site: Biller . David . 2020-12-13 . Swift backlash for Brazil students targeting misinformation . 2020-12-14 . AP News . Associated Press . December 13, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201213205745/https://apnews.com/article/brazil-rio-de-janeiro-misinformation-coronavirus-pandemic-latin-america-ba4a7dbd4b57a53a6c4748aeb94b9bde . live .
  29. Web site: Fogel . Benjamin . 2020-08-07 . PayPal blocks Olavo de Carvalho in latest blow for far-right ideologue . 2020-09-17 . The Brazilian Report . September 16, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200916152831/https://brazilian.report/tech/2020/08/07/paypal-blocks-olavo-de-carvalho-in-latest-blow-for-far-right-ideologue/ . live .
  30. News: McCoy . Terrence . He’s the Rush Limbaugh of Brazil. He has Bolsonaro’s ear. And he lives in rural Virginia. . en-US . Washington Post . 2020-10-05 . 0190-8286 . October 9, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201009073318/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/hes-the-rush-limbaugh-of-brazil-he-has-bolsonaros-ear-and-he-lives-in-rural-virginia/2019/07/14/4f73dee2-8ac4-11e9-8f69-a2795fca3343_story.html . live .
  31. Web site: Teitelbaum . Benjamin . 2020-10-08 . The rise of the traditionalists: how a mystical doctrine is reshaping the right . 2020-10-08 . New Statesman . en . October 11, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201011135812/https://www.newstatesman.com/world/2020/10/rise-traditionalists-how-mystical-doctrine-reshaping-right . live .
  32. Web site: John Fowler . Mayhill . Sleeping Giants Movement Undermines Jair Bolsonaro's Guru's Disinformation Web . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201111120847/https://www.offthebus.net/2020/08/19/sleeping-giants-movement-undermines-jair-bolsonaros-gurus-disinformation-web/ . 2020-11-11 . Off The Bus . en-US.

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