R.E.M.‘s Michael Stipe has urged his social media followers to affix him in a short lived boycott of Meta and its related merchandise to protest their half in “serving to advance the far proper in America”.
Stipe shared his intentions by way of a put up on Instagram on Sunday (Jan. 19), outlining the “Lights Out Meta” marketing campaign which might happen from Jan. 19 – 26, and requested customers to sign off of all Meta platforms for the week. As Stipe added, this consists of the likes of Fb, Instagram, Threads, Messenger, WhatsApp, Giphy, Meta Quest, and Ray-Ban Meta sensible glasses.
“I’ll be logged off for the week. Beginning tomorrow,” Stipe wrote. “Please take into account doing the identical so firms like Meta can think about there could be penalties for serving to advance the far proper in America and world extensive. Or are we too addicted [that] we will’t sign off even for one week?”
“It’s so gross,” he continued in his put up’s caption. “I’m actually blissful to step away for every week as some type of protest—after which I’ll come again and determine what to do from there.”
Stipe’s determination to participate in a boycott of Meta platforms comes simply days after CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced the firm’s determination to drop their fact-checking program for Fb and Instagram, noting it apparently made “too many errors and an excessive amount of censorship” and is “too politically biased.”
As a substitute, Fb and Instagram will depend on a way much like the “neighborhood notes” mannequin discovered on X. This, nevertheless, has been met with widespread criticism from commentators who’ve expressed worry it might result in additional misinformation on social media and strongly contribute to the additional unfold of far-right ideologies.
Stipe shouldn’t be the one particular person to announce their departure from social media this weekend, with the Treatment‘s Robert Smith additionally telling his followers he’s leaving X on Sunday (Jan. 19) in favor of accounts on Bluesky, Instagram, or Mastodon’s Universeodon. “In any other case I’ll seemingly be exterior,” added Smith.
