Nandini Jammi on Stiftung Neue Verantwortung

Sleeping Giants is a

social media activism Internet activism involves the use of electronic-communication technologies such as social media, e-mail, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster and more effective communication by citizen movements, the delivery of particular ...

organization aiming to pressure companies into removing

advertisements Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically us ...

from several conservative news outlets by publicly accusing them of malpractices such as

misinformation Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. Misinformation and disinformation are not interchangeable terms: misinformation can exist with or without specific malicious intent, whereas disinformation is distinct in that the information ...

and

hate speech Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...

. The campaign started in November 2016, shortly after

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's victory in the

2016 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor, Indiana governor Mike P ...

, with the launch of a

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account aiming to boycott ''

Breitbart News ''Breitbart News Network'' (; known commonly as ''Breitbart News'', ''Breitbart'', or ''Breitbart.com'') is an Radical right (United States), American far-rightMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * syndicated news, opinion, and commentar ...

''. The campaign has sections in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France and Germany. The American campaign operated anonymously until ''

The Daily Caller ''The Daily Caller'' is a right-wing news and opinion website based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by political commentator Tucker Carlson and political advisor Neil Patel in 2010. Launched as a "conservative answer to ''The Huffington ...

'' identified freelance copywriter Matt Rivitz as the founder, a story confirmed by Rivitz. Shortly afterward, a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' profile of Rivitz and freelance copywriter and marketing consultant

Nandini Jammi Nandini Jammi (born ) is an American activist and brand safety consultant. She is a co-founder of the Check My Ads agency and associated non-profit Check My Ads Institute. Previously, she co-founded Sleeping Giants. She informs businesses about t ...

said the two ran the campaign's Twitter account "along with other still anonymous contributors". Other reports identified Jammi as "co-founder". Jammi later left Sleeping Giants, saying that Rivitz "gaslighted me out of the movement we built together".

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

described this as an act for which Rivitz later apologised.

Campaign against ''Breitbart News''

The organization primarily operates from its Twitter account, and also has a Facebook account. As of February 2017, 820 companies had joined the campaign and stopped advertising on ''Breitbart News'', according to statistics provided by the organization. By May 2017, thousands of advertisers had stopped advertising with ''Breitbart''. The list of advertisers includes

Allstate The Allstate Corporation is an American insurance company, headquartered in Glenview, Illinois (with a Northbrook, Illinois address) since 2022. Founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., it was spun off in 1993, but was still pa ...

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

Autodesk Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that provides software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquarte ...

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. It was formed in 199 ...

HP Inc. HP Inc. is an American multinational information technology company with its headquarters in Palo Alto, California, that develops personal computers (PCs), printers and related supplies, as well as 3D printing services. It is the world's s ...

Kellogg's Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company and commonly known as Kellogg's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, US. Kellanova produces and markets con ...

Lenovo Lenovo Group Limited, trading as Lenovo ( , zh, c=联想, p=Liánxiǎng), is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, personal computers, software, servers, conv ...

Lyft Lyft, Inc. is an American company offering ride-hailing services, motorized scooters, and bicycle-sharing systems in the United States and Canada. Lyft sets fares, which vary using a dynamic pricing model based on local supply and demand a ...

Visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

Vimeo Vimeo ( ) is an American Online video platform, video hosting, sharing, and services provider founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices and operates on a ...

Nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

, and

Warby Parker Warby Parker Inc. is an American eyewear brand and retailer of prescription glasses, contact lenses, and sunglasses, based in New York City. Founded in 2010, it was initially an online-only retailer. It now receives (about two-thirds) of its r ...

. The

Canadian government The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes ministers of the Crown ( ...

also stopped advertising on ''Breitbart News'' after declaring that its content "did not align with the Government's Code of Value and Ethics". Sleeping Giants' strategy combines traditional approaches to pressure advertisers with direct online activism, aiming to recruit and mobilize a large population of social media users. According to ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'', Sleeping Giants' strategy is similar to the one adopted in 2014 by the

Gamergate Gamergate or GamerGate (GG) was a loosely organized online misogyny, misogynistic online harassment campaign motivated by a right-wing backlash against feminism, diversity, and progressivism in video game culture. It was conducted using the ...

movement against

Gawker Media Gawker Media LLC (formerly Blogwire, Inc. and Gawker Media, Inc.) was an American internet media company and Link farm#Blog network, blog network. It was founded by Nick Denton in October 2003 as Blogwire, and was based in New York City. Incorpor ...

. ''Breitbart News'' responded with a campaign to boycott Kellogg's products.

Other campaigns

Sleeping Giants was involved in the campaign pressuring advertisers to drop ''

The O'Reilly Factor ''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...

'' after the discovery of five

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

settlements by host

Bill O'Reilly William O'Reilly or Bill O'Reilly may refer to: Government and politics * Bill O'Reilly (political commentator) (born 1949), American commentator, author and television host * William O'Reilly (MP) (1792–1844), UK MP for the Irish constituency o ...

and

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

, which resulted in the show's cancellation. The group also participated in organizing the boycott of ''The Ingraham Angle'' and pressured social networks to drop

Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American Far-right politics, far-right radio host, radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas. ''The Alex Jones Show'' is the lo ...

. Since May 2017, the Canadian section has used the same methods to persuade advertisers to remove ads from ''

Rebel News ''Rebel News'' (also known as ''The Rebel Media'' and ''The Rebel'') is a Canadian far-right political and social commentary media website operated by Rebel News Network Ltd. It has been described as a "global platform" for the Islamophobia, a ...

'', a Canadian far-right media website. The French section also campaigns in a similar manner with regard to the

French far-right French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

website . An Australian section named Sleeping Giants Oz was established in August 2017. In August 2018, Sleeping Giants Oz called on advertisers to boycott

Sky News Australia Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs fe ...

after it broadcast an interview with

Blair Cottrell Blair Cottrell (born November 1989) is an Australian far-right extremist and neo-Nazi. He was a founding member of the United Patriots Front (UPF) and the Lads Society. He has been convicted and served prison time for stalking, arson, illeg ...

, an Australian far-right extremist. A Brazilian section, Sleeping Giants Brasil, was established in May 2020. Sleeping Giants Brasil gained traction against ''Jornal da Cidade On-line, Conexão Política'' and ''Brasil Sem Medo,'' right-wing and conservative outlets which support

Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...

. They also tried to defund

Olavo de Carvalho Olavo Luiz Pimentel de Carvalho (; 29 April 1947 – 24 January 2022) was a Brazilian self-proclaimed philosopher, political pundit, former astrologer, journalist, and far-right conspiracy theorist. While publishing about politics, literatur ...

's YouTube channel and online courses. Consequently

PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support E-commerce payment system, online money transfers; it serves as an electronic alter ...

decided to remove their services from Carvalho's online seminars upon violations of their terms and conditions of use due to his inflammatory rhetoric, polemic remarks and hate speech.

Campaign against ''Breitbart News''

Other campaigns

See also

References

Further reading