Young disabled campaigners CYA win award for Facebook challenge

A group of young Coventry activists who challenged Facebook’s disability hate and ableism policies have won the prestigious Sheila McKechnie David and Goliath Award.

(Watch until the end to see photos of CYA celebrating their win!).

Despite rising levels of disability hate crime online, Coventry Youth Activists (CYA) always got the same response when they tried to report a problem – hateful posts don’t breach Facebook’s Community Standards.

CYA’s response was that Facebook doesn’t have any standards, otherwise they wouldn’t allow hateful, ableist posts to remain online.

They secured a meeting with Facebook (something that many larger organisations have failed to do) but after this, all communication stopped.

Undeterred, they continued their fight with a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party outside Facebook’s London HQ – inviting Facebook to sit down with them and talk: https://youtu.be/wRQNcFppTxg

They also turned their attention to ensuring that issues facing people with disabilities are not ignored as part of the Online Safety Bill, meeting MPs and Peers to share their ideas.

CYA worked with allies and local government to influence the legislation. Their aim was to ensure that disabled people were protected, their concerns were included and social media companies became more accountable.

The difference the campaign has had on the young people in the group has been huge. Young people with anxiety, who would often find social situations overwhelming, stood outside Facebook HQ sharing their own story in front of a crowd on a megaphone. Young people with learning disabilities, often excluded by society, ran online meetings with people in positions of power to hold them to account.

The campaign was hailed in its award category as "extraordinary for its ambition, impact and empowering energy."

SMK Awards judge David Graham says: “Everyone knows that the internet giants cause harm but few try and do anything about it. It was hugely impressive that a small local disability charity took on Facebook and embarrassed them.”

The SMK National Campaigner Awards celebrate the best campaigns and campaigners – whether working locally or nationally, and from individuals and community groups to people working in large organisations.

Coventry Youth Activists are part of our #ShiftingPower action strand at Grapevine: https://www.grapevinecovandwarks.org/

Awards video by Voytek Ltd for the Sheila McKechnie Foundation. Photographs by CYA. CYA are funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Visual notes by artist and community organiser Melissa Smith (@FeelGoodMel on Twitter).

#Disability #HateSpeech #Facebook #Campaigning #Activism

Acceptance speech in text (Joey from CYA):

“As disabled people, we’re so used to being ignored and not being listened to that we are now of the opinion of, what can we lose?

“It’s really hard to expect people to understand what something is like unless they’ve lived through it and everyone within Coventry Youth Activists (CYA) has experienced that.

“I think when you have personal experience, it increases the drive to make the change. As the award says (David and Goliath Award), it just brings CYA together in such a short space of words.

“As the story goes, David has to show courage to come forward and take on things throughout the world.

“Every single day, each member of CYA both as a group and in individual lives have to bring great courage sometimes just to leave their homes for their own work or to try and make a difference.

“We’re just so incredibly thankful to have our voices heard. As our campaign says, we’re still fighting really hard to even get the most explicit hate speech towards disabled people taken down.

“So we really need to raise the awareness that within protected characteristics and marginalised communities as disabled people and we’re not as advanced with equality towards disabled people as we might think… as we know!”

Amanda from CYA's advice for other campaigners:

“Find your voice and don’t give up. Find the right people and energy. And Facebook has no standards!”

Видео Young disabled campaigners CYA win award for Facebook challenge канала Grapevine Cov and Warks