Nandini Jammi - Sleeping Giants and the era of brand safety (Turing Fest 2019)

Tech has made it really easy for anyone to go online and start a new business. Anyone. Even conspiracy theorists, white nationalists and garden variety hate groups. Now, many tech companies are faced with big decisions: Who gets to use your platform and where do we draw the line?

In this talk, tech marketer and Sleeping Giants organizer Nandini Jammi will explore how consumer attitudes towards tech companies are evolving and what steps you need to take to protect your brand from social media scandals.

You’ll learn:

- Tactics and strategies Sleeping Giants uses to hold tech companies accountable
- How to weather the social media crisis
- How to develop proactive company-wide policies and terms that promote brand safety
- How to communicate your decisions with employees and customers

Transcript

1. Sleeping Giants & The Era of Brand Safety NANDINI JAMMI Founding Organizer
2. Nov. 2016 @nandoodles @slpng_giants
3. Thanks for the heads up. Obviously our core values differ from these topics and we are handling it. Hello! We removed related websites from our list. Thank you for the warning ✌ Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We were unaware of this, and are as upset as you are. @nandoodles @slpng_giants
4. @nandoodles @slpng_giants
5. July 22, 2018 @nandoodles @slpng_giants
6. Breitbart: The crew Milo Yiannopoulos “Pedophile apologist” Robert Mercer “Voldemort” Steve Bannon “Crusty racist meth head”
7. Very normal guy ”Lenin wanted to destroy the state and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down and destroy all of today’s establishment.” @nandoodles @slpng_giants
8. Start an information war (In 3 unnervingly easy steps!) The plan: @nandoodles @slpng_giants
9. Look like legit “news” Step 1: @nandoodles @slpng_giants
10. (Who’s checking anyway? ) @nandoodles @slpng_giants
11. Crank out 24/7 propaganda and misinformation Step 2: @nandoodles @slpng_giants
13. Compiled by: @ejgibney POWERED BY
14. Not even trying to hide it @nandoodles @slpng_giants
15. ✔ “black-on-black crime” ✔ “migrant rape gangs” in Europe ✔ “young Muslims in the West” the world’s “ticking time bomb.” @nandoodles @slpng_giants
16. Monetize Step 3: @nandoodles @slpng_giants
17. PROGRAMMATIC ADVERTISING
18. • 17 million visitors per month in Jan. 2017 • 45th most visited site Breitbart by the numbers • 11th most popular Facebook page • 2.3 million Facebook followers Plus, plans to expand to @nandoodles @slpng_giants
19. “a brilliant audience expansion machine, financed by billionaires” Here's How Breitbart And Milo Smuggled White Nationalism Into The Mainstream October 5, 2017 @nandoodles @slpng_giants
20. No enforcement. No one was checking. ...until we came along. @nandoodles @slpng_giants
21. ...OH SHIT! • 90% of Breitbart’s ad revenue gone within 3 months • 20+ ad networks • 4000+ advertisers @nandoodles @slpng_giants
22. “This group run by a group of tech executives...” Source: Outtake from The Brink
23. Ask if it aligns with their brand + values The Sleeping Giants M.O. Present information @nandoodles @slpng_giants
24. SG Oz SG France SG Canada
25. For brands: Easy choice No thanks to hate & bigotry Lufthansa opposes ads on websites promoting violent, sexist, extremist or politically radical content. 1:10 PM · Apr 2, 2017 @nandoodles @slpng_giants
26. Breitbart’s tech helpers Distributed & Verified: Traffic Monetized: Comments & Discussion: Merch & Sales:
27. It’s not our place to censor an opinion or dictate what is not allowed for people to write. @nandoodles @slpng_giants
28. We don’t like Breitbart, but products are speech and we are pro free speech. @nandoodles @slpng_giants
29. It’s a slippery slope. If we ban them, who’s next? @nandoodles @slpng_giants
30. This was bigger than Breitbart. There’s a parallel society of “hate merchants” built on our software ecosystem. @nandoodles @slpng_giants
31. Alex Jones Conspiracy theorist
32. Unite the Right Deadly white supremacist group
33. Proud Boys Violent white supremacist group
34. Tommy Robinson Racist POS
35. Generation Identity European Neo-Nazis
37. Powered by German neo-Nazis
38. This is untenable Bad faith actors have co-opted our systems @nandoodles @slpng_giants
39. Tech leaders to me: “I don’t know how to deal with this…” “I don’t want to deal with this…” “I don’t think I should playing God…” @nandoodles @slpng_giants
40. ✅ Build products ✅ Acquire customers ✅ Build brand ✅ Grow business ❌ Play God ❌ Take sides ❌ Moral gray area ❌ Deal with the fallout @nandoodles @slpng_giants
41. It’s not an “ethical” issue anymore. It’s a full-on business liability. Good news: “Who doesn’t get to use my platform?” @nandoodles @slpng_giants
42. Ask if it aligns with their brand + values The Sleeping Giants M.O. Present information
43. We have changed the narrative Breitbart is bleeding advertisers due to an anonymous Twitter collective Bill O'Reilly Is Forced Out at Fox News Robert Mercer to step down as head of Renaissance Technologies The Advertiser Embargo Against Tucker Carlson Is Working Facebook bans Alex Jones and Laura Loomer for violating its policies against dangerous individuals Daily Stormer: Cloudflare drops neo-Nazi site Renegade Shareholders Have A Plan To Force Mastercard To Monitor Neo-Nazis
44. “What are you going to do about it?” @nandoodles @slpng_giants
45. “I don’t know how to deal with this…” “I don’t want to deal with this…” “I don’t think I should playing God…” This shit’s over @nandoodles @slpng_giants
46. And you’re going to need to be able to answer. And answer fast. @nandoodles @slpng_giants
47. The new era of brand safety: ✨Answerability✨ Hey, can you explain why...? @nandoodles @slpng_giants
48. Answerability: You publicly answer for what you Enable Distribute Monetize Amplify @nandoodles @slpng_giants
49. You have two choices Wing it Make house rules @nandoodles @slpng_giants
50. Answerability: Real-life consequences Lawsuits Reputational harm Brand equity Positive PR LIABILITY EQUITY @nandoodles @slpng_giants
51. What does it look like to: Wing it Make house rules @nandoodles @slpng_giants
52. In the era of ✨Answerability✨ @nandoodles @slpng_giants
53. The Daily Stormer • Founder: Andrew Anglin • Neo-Nazi • Owes $18 million in lawsuits for targeted harassment • Status: On the run Hosted & Protected by
54. Charlottesville August 11, 2017
55. Heather Heyer killed by a white nationalist @nandoodles @slpng_giants
56. The Daily Stormer headline ❌ ❌
57. CEO Matthew Prince I’m a free speech absolutist. A website is speech. It is not a bomb. Last person on Earth who would ban anybody @nandoodles @slpng_giants
58. CEO Matthew Prince Last person on Earth who would ban anybody @nandoodles @slpng_giants
59. 3 days later… CEO Matthew Prince Last person on Earth who would ban anybody @nandoodles @slpng_giants
60. “Literally, I woke up in a bad mood and decided someone shouldn’t be allowed on the Internet.” Translation: I’m a free speech absolutist until the pressure gets to me.
61. Who’s playing God now? @nandoodles @slpng_giants
62. (This would have been a good time to make some house rules.)
63. 8chan Hosted & Protected by
64. 3 mass shootings, 3 manifestos El Paso Poway Christchurch @nandoodles @slpng_giants
65. @nandoodles @slpng_giants
66. CEO Matthew Prince Last person on Earth who would ban anybody
67. ???
68. One day later...
69. BANNED @nandoodles @slpng_giants
70. This is not a PHIL101 class I’m a free speech absolutist. @nandoodles @slpng_giants
71. Your plan can’t be “free speech, anything goes” In the real world (The real world has market constraints) @nandoodles @slpng_giants
72. Matthew is still answerable • Social media & bad press • Tanking brand equity • Skittish Investors!!! • Your IPO @nandoodles @slpng_giants
73. Cloudflare has created a whole new business risk for itself Especially pre-IPO! @nandoodles @slpng_giants
74. Cloudflare’s pre-IPO Filing “We are aware of some potential customers that have indicated their decision to not subscribe to our products was impacted, at least in part, by the actions of certain of our paying and free customers. We may also experience other adverse political, business and reputational consequences with prospective and current customers, employees, suppliers, and others related to the activities of our paying and free customers, especially if such hostile, offensive, or inappropriate use is high profile.” @nandoodles @slpng_giants
75. Translation: Our customers don’t feel they can trust us, because we say one thing and do another under activist pressure. @nandoodles @slpng_giants
76. Takeaway Cloudflare violated its own core values and policy. No wonder everyone is nervous! @nandoodles @slpng_giants
77. Phew, that was exhausting! @nandoodles @slpng_giants
78. What does it look like to: Wing it Establish house rules @nandoodles @slpng_giants
79. In the era of ✨Answerability✨ @nandoodles @slpng_giants
80. “Feminist” dating app
81. is @bumble_app still a feminist dating app or the place where white nationalists / nazis go to cheat on their wives?
83. SOLVED
84. But not with us. Jack has a right to find meet women... @nandoodles @slpng_giants
85. Hyperlocal Community App
86. Had a sexual content problem BANNED
87. Banned nudity, racism, sexism, bullying & insults of any kind “We don’t want to get into an endless debate of is this an opinion or is this insulting. When someone doesn’t feel included, that is where the border is.” CEO Alessio Avellan Borgmeyer
88. Banned nudity, racism, sexism, bullying & insults of any kind “We don’t want to get into an endless debate of is this an opinion or is this insulting. When someone doesn’t feel included, that is where the border is.” CEO Alessio Avellan Borgmeyer SOLVED
89. But not with us. People have a right to racist jokes... @nandoodles @slpng_giants
90. Crowdfunding Membership Platform
91. Had a Lauren Southern problem
93. “Manifest Observable Behavior” Patreon CEO Jack Conte “It’s a review method that’s entirely based on observable facts. What has a camera seen? What has an audio recorded?”
94. “Manifest Observable Behavior” Patreon CEO Jack Conte “It’s a review method that’s entirely based on observable facts. What has a camera seen? What has an audio recorded?” SOLVED
95. But not with us. Lauren has a right to be a shitty human being... @nandoodles @slpng_giants
96. The struggle is NOT real Censorship Taking sides Playing God @nandoodles @slpng_giants
97. They’re just enforcing their house rules. @nandoodles @slpng_giants And you can too
98. Get ahead in the era of ✨Answerability✨ • Your values • Your employees • Your customers • Your community @nandoodles @slpng_giants
99. Acceptable use policies Terms of service Company values Mission statement My house rules are here: @nandoodles @slpng_giants
100. With house rules, you and your team can answer: ✔Quickly ✔Consistently ✔Transparently @nandoodles @slpng_giants
101. Bad faith actors are looking to test your limits whAt’S uR pRobLeM? iT sAYs “SoCialisM iS FoR FiGs”
102. But you don’t answer to them. @nandoodles @slpng_giants
103. Activists like us aren’t going anywhere. @nandoodles @slpng_giants
104. But you don’t answer to us either. @nandoodles @slpng_giants
105. The diverse customer & employee base you want to build. You answer to your people @nandoodles @slpng_giants
106. “My house, my rules.” You’re allowed to say @nandoodles @slpng_giants
107. Who doesn’t get to use your platform? @nandoodles @slpng_giants (FYI You’re never going to lose points for banning hate groups)
108. @nandoodles @slpng_giant s Yes, you are allowed to build a business The way you want to, free of hate.
109. CONCLUSION
110. Those guys don’t know what they’re doing.
111. Yes, you are allowed to say: “My house, my rules.”
112. @slpng_giants Follow us @nandoodles Follow me /slpnggiants nandinijammi.com
113. THESE SLIDES ARE NOT PART OF THE PRESENTATION. IGNORE.
114. 1. Every business has limits Stripe’s restricted “high risk” businesses ❌ Psychic services ❌ Multi-level marketing ❌ Adult live chat ✅ White nationalism ✅ Islamophobia ✅ Anti-semitism
115. Is Stripe censoring psychics?