On Thursday morning, May 30, 2019, our Bend the Arc National Organizer, Arielle Cohen; SumOfUs Director of Programs, Leila Deen; former SumOfUs Director of Operations and Finance, China Brotsky; and Bend the Arc South Bay Chapter member, Rhona Mahony, participated in an action at Facebook’s annual shareholder meeting in Menlo Park. We had two demands:
- That shareholders vote for the resolution stating that Mark Zuckerberg must no longer serve as both Facebook’s CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Facebook has become a platform that regularly allows hate speech to go unchecked, and Zuckerberg has lost control.
- That shareholders vote in favor of breaking up Facebook. Facebook has far too strong a hold on global communications, and we argued it should be divided up into its separate constituent companies by spinning off WhatsApp, Instagram, and Oculus Rift.
Arielle and Leila inflated an eight-foot tall helium “Angry” emoji, which attracted the attention of videographers and journalists. Our placards read “Vote No on Zuckerberg,” “Facebook is Out of Control,” and “Break Up Facebook.” We held the balloon and our placards outside the entrance to the Nia Hotel, so shareholders could see them and talk with us as they went in to vote.
Inflating the "Angry" Emoji.
