President Isaac Herzog has teamed up with the Israeli branch of Meta – the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram – for a new campaign to change the tone of online discourse.
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As part of the "Think Hard" campaign, launched Tuesday, dozens of famous Israelis will share videos of them reading aloud the most offensive comment they have received online, but they will replace the offensive words with positive ones.
The campaign aims to show millions of Israelis the difficult feelings such comments can cause, even to famous celebrities and public figures with hundreds of thousands of followers online. Additionally, some of those involved in the campaign will direct their efforts at teens and provide tips for them to stay safe online.
The hope is that people will be encouraged to think twice before using offensive language and engaging in verbal violence and to think positive thoughts before commenting on something online.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, judoka Peter Paltchik, all of whom have hundreds of thousands of followers online, are among those set to take part in the campaign.
Herzog said: "The online discourse worries me. The hand has become very light on the keyboard, and red lines are constantly being crossed. I made it my central goal to moderate the offensive dialogue and bullying online that hurts us as individuals and as a society on an everyday basis.
"I am glad to lead a project that encourages [people] to stop and think before they hit [Enter on] the keyboard. It's important for us to bring the issue of the difficulty that exists behind reading difficult comments to the surface by seeing how public figures and influencers from various fields cope [with the problem]. We must do everything we can to change the discourse online and in the entire nation. We must start to think good [things] and write good [things].
Meta Israel CEO Adi Soffer Teeni said the campaign "shines a spotlight on the most difficult moments online to spark conversation and make a clear statement against a phenomenon that has no place on our platforms.
"I thank all those who agreed to bravely reveal the ugly words written to them to lead an important process against any display of bullying, offensive discourse, and violent language online. We have an obligation to provide a safe and positive experience to billions of users," she said.
The campaign is just the latest in a series of moves the tech giant has made to improve its image following a number of incidents that harmed the company's image and finances in recent years. These incidents include the leak of user data by a third party, minors who suffered psychological damage from social media use, lawsuits over the company's use of facial recognition technology – which has since been scrapped by the company, and accusations Meta has prioritized profits over user safety, among others.
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