“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
Stop Funding Hate is working. More and more brands are choosing compassion over hate and pulling away from the Daily Mail, the Sun and Daily Express. Together we are showing that printing hate is bad for business. Now we need to ramp up the pressure and change the UK media for good.
Hate crime is at record levels - and experts have warned that the hate in our media is fuelling this.
Companies that advertise in the Daily Mail, Daily Express and the Sun are funding them. And they’re using our money to do so. When we buy a sandwich at M&S, or pay a phone bill to Vodafone, some of that money will be used to finance dangerous reporting on many different groups - refugees, migrants, Muslims, LGBTQI+ people, women - that is, on us, our friends and neighbours.
Editors have a strong incentive to run these harmful stories: it sells papers - and that means they can earn more from advertising. But Stop Funding Hate supporters are helping to change this. Thousands of customers have taken action, and more and more advertisers are listening. Companies like Lego, JOY, the Body Shop, and Paperchase have realised that advertising in papers that print hate just doesn't suit their brand.
Our voices are being heard - now it's time to take things to a new level.
Stop Funding Hate is all about polite and friendly engagement. But recently the Daily Mail has begun lashing out at Stop Funding Hate supporters, launching a series of highly personalised attacks.
Yet no amount of name-calling will change this basic fact: People who oppose hate have a right to ask the companies they shop with not to fund newspapers that demonise and discriminate.
Following recent coverage, Stop Funding Hate staff and supporters have faced abuse, threats, racism and targeted harassment.
We will not be silenced by this intimidation. This is a sign that the pressure is working. Now we need to ramp up our activities and change the media for good.
The Daily Mail says that Stop Funding Hate is just a “tiny group”. By pledging your support through our Crowdfunder you can help to prove them wrong. Together we can show that thousands of us care about the impact of media hate, and want to put an end to the attacks on our friends and neighbours from minority communities.
We're not seeking to put any newspaper out of business - we just want the hate to stop. Our long term goal is a media free from hatred and discrimination, that does the job everyone wants it to do: Reporting accurately and fairly, and upholding the public interest rather than undermining it.
*Out-organising the haters
With more staff capacity we can support everyone who wants to be involved in Stop Funding Hate. From brilliant campaign strategists, to excellent researchers, we'll ensure our volunteers and allies have the resources they need to make their voices heard, and build on our collective success.
*Securing the campaign
We need specialist legal, security, and media services so we can respond to attacks and threats. Recently, Stop Funding Hate has been attacked online and offline - including personal attacks on our staff and volunteers. We need legal support, media insight and safety measures to make sure we can continue the campaign.
| Full time Community Organiser | £30,000 |
| Legal advice, security training and media support. | £10,000 |
Making our Community Organiser role full time will ensure Stop Funding Hate supporters and allies will have the resources they need to persuade even more companies to stop advertising in the Daily Mail, Daily Express and the Sun. We'll also build new alliances and help to grow the global push back against hate.
The legal, security and media budget will help protect the campaign from attacks and help us get our message out to the world.
Stop Funding Hate is a movement of people who refuse to be demonised or divided against each other. We aim to persuade companies to stop advertising in the Daily Mail, Daily Express and Sun - all newspapers that have been called out by the United Nations for hate speech and discrimination.
Our partners include the United Nations human rights office, hate crime monitoring group Tell MAMA, the NUS, and migrant youth campaigners Stand Up Stand Out. And in October, Stop Funding Hate was proud to receive an award in memory of Jo Cox MP at the national No2H8 Crime Awards.
Stop Funding Hate supporters are from all ages, backgrounds and political allegiances. We’re open to anyone who shares our values of fairness, respect, empathy and honesty.
Every pledge helps to build on our success and persuade more companies to choose love over hate. And every follow, share and like grows our voice. Please spread the word on Twitter @StopFundingHate and Facebook, email your friends and family and tell everyone you know how they can get involved. Together we can start spreading love.