Following the Euro 2020 final on Sunday, we watched in horror as social media feeds filled with racism, hate and bigotry. This week has been a particularly appalling example of those individuals with toxic thoughts and abhorrent views using social media platforms as a space to stir up division and hatred, and where those views are seemingly allowed to flourish.
As a university, we use social media as an important way to communicate with our community and to allow our community to communicate with us, and as a key recruitment tool. But tomorrow, Friday 16 July, the University of Salford and Students’ Union will be switching off. We will be suspending all our paid advertising, mid-campaign, and ceasing our organic activity on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to let those platforms know that, as their users and customers, we demand more. We urge those platforms to prioritise developing a solution to make social platforms a safe space for all, and to put people before profit.
We know this is a minor action, and we certainly have a long way to go in our own anti-racism journey, but this will be just one of a number of action-based steps we will be taking to actively condemn behaviour that is unacceptable and, in doing so, make it clear who we are as a university community, what we believe in and what we simply will not tolerate.
For all media enquiries please email Helen Jones, h.m.jones@salford.ac.uk
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