We tell the truth
In a world of “fake news” and hyperbole, we believe that standing against hate must mean not compromising on truthfulness or accuracy. We are campaigning for an honest and fair media, and apply those standards just as rigorously to ourselves as we do to others. We use reputable, evidence-based sources, and fact-check our statements to ensure that we keep ourselves to this high standard.
We oppose all forms of hate
We oppose all kinds of hatred and discrimination, on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, migration status, sexuality, sex or gender identity, disability or any other protected characteristic. We stand against both overt and implicit expressions of hatred, from explicit slurs to “coded” terms – words and phrases that may not seem hateful on the surface, but which have become shorthand for rhetoric against marginalised groups – for example, the term “cultural Marxism”, which is a reference to antisemitic conspiracy theories, or the term “men identifying as women”, which is often used to suggest that trans women’s identities are not valid.
We support all human rights
Our campaigns primarily focus on calling out hatred and discrimination in the media, and making hateful rhetoric unprofitable by encouraging companies to withdraw advertising from media outlets that spread hate speech or promote discriminatory stereotypes. However, we support all other human rights work, and ensure that our campaign is consistent with the principles outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This includes the right to freedom of expression, which is distinct from hate speech.
We are committed to positive campaigning
We believe that fighting hate with hate only leads to further polarising of discourse, and is not a constructive way to campaign against hate and discrimination. Because of this, we are committed to keeping a positive, constructive and friendly tone in our campaigning. We discourage pile-ons against individuals, and are committed to “disagreeing agreeably”.
We prioritise campaigning effectiveness
We realise that the time and energy of #StopFundingHate supporters is valuable, and so we ensure that we carry out campaign actions that have the strongest possible chance of success; for example, contacting advertisers on social media, which has led to quick responses from companies and the withdrawal of advertising from discriminatory media outlets. We regularly review our tactics and approaches to make sure that they are as effective as possible, and we actively learn from the successes of other campaigns around the world, applying new techniques when necessary.
We are community-driven
We are a people-powered campaign, driven and led by our large supporter community. We centre people who have personal, direct experience of the hate and discrimination that we are fighting against, and believe that those directly affected by specific kinds of prejudice are best-placed to identify them. We realise that discrimination may not always be obvious, and that implicit prejudice and coded forms of hate are constantly evolving. For all of these reasons, we are committed to a continual process of learning about the ways that discrimination operates and plays out within our society.
We are non-partisan
We welcome support from people across the political spectrum, and believe that discrimination can be faced by people of all beliefs, demographics, and walks of life. We take a “big tent” approach, and are committed to including everyone who wants to stand against hatred and discrimination in themedia. We believe that challenging hate is not a matter of left and right, but of right and wrong.
We support global co-operation to make hate unprofitable
The advertising industry and media outlets are global in nature, and therefore we believe that the response to the spread of hateful and discriminatory rhetoric must also be global. We support groups around the world who share our commitments and values, and believe that there must be systemic change in order to make hate unprofitable. A list of organisations and campaigns that we support and who are working on similar issues can be found.