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Cancel Culture

Legacy NTC Campaigns

Urge Columbia University’s New President to Hit the Reset Button on Support for Free Speech

University presidents wield substantial power to promote — or limit — free expression on college campuses. The president of Columbia University in New York City is no exception: From the moment she took office at the ivy league school on July 1, she inherited the challenge of protecting student and faculty free speech at an institution which maintains restrictive speech codes and ranks last in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s (FIRE) “2022-23 College Free Speech Rankings.” As an adopter of the Chicago Statement, the gold standard for an institutional commitment to free expression, Columbia is obligated to defend and uphold speech rights for its students and faculty. One way to put its promise to protect free expression into practice is to reform restrictive policies in ways that satisfy various campus imperatives while also respecting free speech promises and principles. To ensure that Columbia not only promises to protect free speech but actively defends it, the New Tolerance Campaign is partnering with FIRE to empower students, alumni, and concerned citizens to urge Columbia University’s new president to improve the school’s speech policies. Ask Columbia’s new president, Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, to fulfill Columbia’s duty to protect free expression. 

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Academy Insanity: Christian Toto & the New Oscars Diversity Requirements

Spurred on by the “#OscarsSoWhite” progressive Twitter pile-on of 2015 and catalyzed during the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020, the Academy Awards has implemented revised Oscar eligibility criteria to include mandated diversity requirements — and the list is quite something to behold. On-screen “at least one of the lead actors must be from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group,” the new rules state. “30% of actors in secondary roles be from underrepresented groups such as LGBT+ and people with cognitive or physical disabilities,” and the plot must “center around an underrepresented group.” Off-screen “the leading producers must have at least two members from an underrepresented group on their staff,” and “six members of the crew/technical team must be from those same underrepresented groups,” and “senior executives on the film must also meet certain thresholds for those underrepresented groups.” The rules even extend to interns! Productions must have “at least two interns from underrepresented groups, and those opportunities must be prioritized” over those in properly represented groups.” How will all of this be enforced? With a literal checklist. Movies will need to submit an “Academy Inclusion Standards form” for major award consideration. And that’s not all: the Diversity Police will also be on the case — the Academy will conduct spot checks and interviews to ensure producers aren’t fudging the numbers on their forms. It’s estimated that of the 95 Best Pictures in the history of the Oscars, over half would not qualify under these new diversity thresholds. Gone with the Wind, Wizard of Oz, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Singin’ in the Rain, The Sound of Music, The Godfather, Star Wars, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, and Schindler’s List all would have been ineligible for top honors. Even recent critically acclaimed movies such as 1917 and The Irishman wouldn’t make the cut. “Anything that interrupts the creative process is a potential problem,” film critic and founder of Hollywood in Toto Christian Toto (pictured) told the New Tolerance Campaign. “Some stories may be perfect for an Oscar-worthy presentation, but they may not be told because they don’t align with the approved narratives. We may see an artificial uptick in diversity numbers, but does that include other groups marginalized by Hollywood — conservatives and Christians? Why don’t they get special protection given how they’re ignored or maligned within show business?” Conservatives aren’t the only ones skeptical of the Academy’s new mandates. Richard Dreyfuss, known for his roles in Jaws and American Graffiti, (two movies that also wouldn’t make the cut today) said the new standards “make him want to vomit.” Others haven’t been as outspoken. “Actors are very afraid to speak out against the new diversity rules,” Toto said. “The New York Post’s story on the subject had several industry critics but no one shared their name. Fear is very powerful in Hollywood, and if you’re suspected of being critical of aggressive diversity measures there will be consequences.” All of it makes one wonder: If only some movies receive Oscar consideration, can any objectively be called “Best Picture”?

Past Campaigns

Tell Chase Bank to Stop Attacking Free Speech & Religious Liberty

Chase Bank has some big problems. The massive financial institution refused to even meet with some of its largest investors to discuss the Viewpoint Diversity Business Index, the first comprehensive measure of corporate respect for free speech and religious liberty. But that’s not all: Chase appears to be actively discriminating against groups that don’t agree with the banking giant’s cultural agenda. Chase closed the account of the National Committee for Religious Freedom less than a month after it was opened. The nonprofit, chaired by former U.S. Senator and Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, was informed that the organization had to reveal its donor list in order for the account to be restored. Make no mistake: If Chase can do this to a former governor and United States Senator, they can do it to you, too. NTC is proud to partner with the National Center for Public Policy Research to push back against these outrageous actions. Demand answers from CEO Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase senior leadership!       [Photo credit: Rebecca Barray, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, via Flickr (cropped)]

Past Campaigns

Shut Down by Amazon Following False Accusations of Racism — Demand Answers

Brandon Jackson came home on May 25 to discover he had been locked out of his Amazon Echo, which controlled many of his electronics — including his lights. Why? A delivery driver claimed he heard racist slurs through the doorbell. Jackson is black, wasn’t home, and has video showing the delivery driver wearing headphones at the time of the incident. Even after showing proof of his innocence to Amazon, it took the company over a week to unlock his devices. This should never have happened in the first place. Taking protective action to guarantee the safety of employees is reasonable; shutting someone out of their own property is not. Demand answers from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and a promise this will never happen again!

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Speech Police Partner with Puffin Books to Censor Classic Children’s Stories

On February 18, Puffin Books announced it would be revising and issuing new versions of classic children’s stories by Roald Dahl such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and James and the Giant Peach. Dahl has been dead since 1990. The decision was the result of a partnership between the Roald Dahl Story Company (which controls the rights to Dahl’s books) and an organization called “Inclusive Minds,” a company that pairs so-called “Inclusion Ambassadors” with authors to “help identify language and portrayals that could be inauthentic or problematic.” Inclusive Minds claims not to “edit or rewrite texts,” but their actions say otherwise. The changes to the books include modifying the description of Augustus Gloop, the gluttonous child in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, from “enormously fat” to “enormous”; the famed Oompa Loompas are now gender-neutral “small people” instead of “small men”; the tractors described in The Fabulous Mr. Fox are no longer “black, murderous, brutal-looking monsters” but now “murderous brutal-looking monsters.” In the novel Witches, a woman masquerading as a “cashier in a supermarket or typing letters for a businessman” is now a “top scientist or running a business.” In James and the Giant Peach, Aunt Sponge, who was once “terrifyingly fat / And tremendously flabby at that” is now merely “a nasty old brute.” Public outcry in response to the news was loud and swift, from everyday American to British royalty. Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles said, “Please remain true to your calling, unimpeded by those who may wish to curb the freedom of your expression or impose limits on your imagination.” Comedian Ricky Gervais pondered “whether they’ll change any of the words I’ve used in my work after I’m dead, to spare those who are fragile and easily offended.” Salman Rushdie, an author who was stabbed at an August 2022 book event, said of the censorship, “Roald Dahl was a bigot and he never supported me, but really?” On February 24, Puffin Books backtracked, announcing they would print two versions of Dahl’s books: new, revised, and censored versions and unchanged “classic” editions. …unless you have the e-book versions of the Dahl tomes. On March 14, news broke that Puffin Books would be forcing e-book readers to accept and download the updated editions altered by their “inclusive” sensitivity editors. The Foundation for Individual Rights (FIRE), which has collaborated with the New Tolerance Campaign in the past, rightly stated: “Let’s leave Dahl’s words the way he intended them to be read. Let the work speak for itself, so we can all speak freely about the work.” We agree.

Past Campaigns

Limited Run Games Must Apologize for Caving to Agitator Demands

One complaint — by one transgender activist — about one tweet — from six years ago — was all it took for a videogame company to terminate an employee. This week media was ablaze with news that boutique gaming publisher Limited Run Games (LRG) fired their community manager Kara Lynne (pictured above) for not “supporting an inclusive culture.” Lynne’s violations? She expressed excitement for the upcoming Harry Potter game; she followed three conservative influencers on Twitter; and, in 2016 — before even working for LRG — she wrote a tweet concerned about sex offenders using pro-transgender laws to commit crimes. All of this was too much for transgender agitator Purple Tinker, who tweeted at Lynne’s employer LRG calling Lynne “a transphobe who follows a veritable who’s who of right-wing transphobic creeps. Unless and until she is fired from the company permanently, I am not giving them another single dime.” LRG gave in, ending Lynne’s employment — but even that wasn’t enough for Tinker, who went on to demand a refund for “over $1200 in pending orders.” Kara Lynne did nothing wrong! Lynne has moved on and is currently seeking other opportunities…but questions remain for LRG. Tell Limited Run Games co-owners Douglas Bogart and Josh Fairhurst to apologize for caving to cancel culture!

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New Tolerance Campaign Announces 2022 “Worst of the Woke” Awards

WORST OF THE WOKE 2022 “The Great Unwokening” The Top 10 most hypocritical institutions of the year — and one “Champion of Tolerance”  In the past year, there was no shortage of institutions pushing phony tolerance under the banners of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” and “environmental, social, and governance” initiatives. But 2022 was also notable for the American public pushing back on institutions and their double-standards. Here are the 10 worst offenders: Award Winner: Disney* Reason: In 2022, now-ousted CEO Bob Chapek gave a master class on how not to respond to woke demands. Following the passage of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill (erroneously yet ubiquitously branded by the media as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill), Chapek demurred when Disney employees demanded the company condemn the legislation, rightly asserting that “corporate statements do very little to change outcomes or minds.” Weeks later, Disney did an about-face, declaring the company would support organizations seeking to “replace” the law or have it “struck down in the courts.” Florida legislators and Governor Ron DeSantis responded by stripping Disney of special taxation and self-governance perks it’s enjoyed for decades. The public wasn’t buying Disney’s activism either — quite literally. Following a string of box office bombs, in November Disney abruptly announced Chapek would be stepping down as CEO, making way for his predecessor Bob Iger to return. Iger stepped back into the role of chief executive committing to “quiet” the obsession with cultural issues at the entertainment powerhouse and “respect” consumers of their content. Award Winner: BlackRock* Reason: When you follow the ESG money trail, almost all roads lead to BlackRock. The financial behemoth manages $10 trillion dollars, and has been prioritizing investments in “socially conscious” companies and those dedicated to “environmental sustainability” — except in China, a nation notorious for its rampant industrial pollution and human rights abuses. When called out on the hypocrisy, CEO Larry Fink doubled down. The result: treasurers in West Virginia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Missouri, Florida, Arkansas, Utah, and Arizona pulled state investments from BlackRock totaling $4.28 billion. Award Winner: Twitter* Reason: After years of subjective censorship, account suspensions, and partisan activism, Twitter was at a breaking point by October of this year when Elon Musk stepped in and took over the tech giant, ushering in a new era of free speech and open debate. He also pulled back the curtain on Twitter’s previous policy revealing the platform’s critics’ worst fears: Twitter’s staff censored accounts at the bidding of political elites. Award Winner: Apple Reason: Apple touts a commitment to “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in the United States, while contracting with suppliers in China using forced labor that has propelled the company to record profits. In 2022, Apple took the hypocrisy to a dangerous new level: blocking iPhone communication features in China at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party to help crush domestic protests. Award Winner: American Express Reason: At American Express, prejudice and hypocrisy are everywhere you want to be. In 2022, journalist Christopher Rufo exposed AmEx rules that incentivized hiring and promotion based on race and sex. Not only are such policies illegal and in violation of the company’s fiduciary duties — they’re also un-American. In 2022, NTC unveiled the “UnAmerican Express” campaign in partnership with Color Us United and Consumers’ Research, rallying grassroots action that to date has generated more than 46,000 messages to state pension trustees alerting them to the concerning personnel standards at AmEx. Award Winner: Georgetown University Reason: The woke mob roared into action in January following a tweet by constitutional scholar Ilya Shapiro declaring SCOTUS nominees should be selected based on accomplishment rather than race. Georgetown Law responded by suspending Shapiro as the school’s Executive Director. The university exerted no such discipline in 2018 when Professor Christine Fair wished “miserable deaths” on supporters of Justice Kavanaugh. During a months-long Georgetown “investigation” into Shapiro’s tweet, students demanded that Georgetown use the moment to develop a “reparations” package that included free food and a designated place on campus for students to cry. The fiasco prompted Shapiro to walk away from Georgetown — and its cancel-culture mob — entirely. Award Winner: ACLU* Reason: The Amber Heard-Johnny Depp defamation trial made news for weeks. At the heart of the case: the ACLU and a 2018 op-ed bylined by Heard that implied abuse at Depp’s hands. Courtroom testimony from ACLU Chief Operating Officer Terrence Dougherty revealed the organization was “involved in conceiving, drafting and placing” the piece. By the time all was said and done, Heard was found guilty of defaming Depp, the #MeToo movement was effectively dead, and, in the words of Richard Klein, the once-respected ACLU had become little more than “a disgraced group of attorneys.” Award Winner: The Olympics Reason: The International Olympic Committee bent over backwards to accommodate China’s authoritarian government during the Winter Olympics in Beijing: gaslighting about the wellbeing of tennis star Peng Shuai and refusing to condemn CCP human rights abuses (in direct contravention of the Olympic Charter and Code of Ethics). Fox News host Laura Ingraham stepped up and rallied concerned Americans to tell NBC #NotOneMinute of their time would be spent watching Olympics television coverage. With Ingraham’s amplification, NTC supporters sent more than 26,000 messages to NBC executives. The United States staged a diplomatic boycott of the Games, and ratings reached record lows for NBC. Award Winner: School Boards Reason: “Nonpartisan” school boards pushing far-left agendas got a wake-up call this year, as parents asserted their right to know what their children are being taught in the classroom. In-home instruction via Zoom during the COVID pandemic alerted parents to the radical gender ideology and critical race theory being taught in grade schools. This year, alarm turned into action as grassroots campaigns driven by concerned parents replaced school board members pushing cultural agendas. Award Winner: The NBA Reason: The world of pro sports continued its wokeward drift in 2022, but none more so than the National Basketball Association (NBA). This year, for the first time in its history,

Past Campaigns

Hundreds of NTC Advocates Demanded that Golden State Warriors Leadership Condemn Uyghur Persecution in China

Update: NTC advocates sent countless messages to Golden State Warriors President Rick Welts and VP of Communications Raymond Ridder demanding they explicitly condemn the persecution of the Uyghurs taking place in China.  Unfortunately, Mr. Welts and Mr. Ridder have remained silent.  On January 17, news broke that Chamath Palihapitiya, co-owner of the Golden State Warriors basketball team, asserted that “nobody cares” about the persecution of Muslim Uyghurs in China. “Nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs, okay,” Palihapitiya said on the “All In” podcast. “You bring it up because you care and I think it’s nice that you care. The rest of us don’t care. I’m just telling you a very hard, ugly truth. Of all the things that I care about, yes, it is below my line,” Palihapitiya explained. He subsequently issued a general apology. Hours later, the team’s PR department went into damage control mode — and their statement only made things worse: “As a limited investor who has no day-to-day operating functions with the Warriors, Mr. Palihapitiya does not speak on behalf of our franchise, and his views certainly don’t reflect those of our organization,” the team tweeted. Exactly what “views” would those be? As Casey Mattox wryly paraphrased: “His views do not reflect our views which we will not be releasing at this time and, to all appearances, are functionally the same as his views.” If the Golden State Warriors are serious about standing up against human rights abuses in China and disagree with Chamath Palihapitiya’s assertion that “nobody cares,” they need to step up and say it.   [photo: Mike Disharoon “Mike D,” [CC BY-SA 2.0], via [CC BY-SA 4.0] / Wikimedia Commons]

Past Campaigns

Tell the ACLU to Set the Record Straight on False Accusations that Ruined Lives at Smith College

The New York Times recently published a scathing critique of an alleged racism incident at Smith College that turned out to be nothing of the sort. The ACLU championed the false claim and has yet to retract its statements or apologize for its misleading campaign that seriously harmed an accused janitor and cafeteria worker. Join NTC in demanding that the ACLU apologize and set the record straight! In 2018, Smith student Oumou Kanoute claimed that white workers called school security on her while she was minding her own business and eating lunch on Smith College’s campus, where she was working over the summer. She claimed that it was a clear case of racial profiling, and the ACLU, Smith College, and many news outlets took her at her word. The ACLU created the “eating while black” campaign, holding the incident up as proof of everyday racism. Three months later, a law firm hired by Smith College found out what really happened that day. A summer camp rented space from Smith College and thus for the sake of child safety, some areas became off-limits to everyone else. A cafeteria worker told Kantoute that the area was off-limits, but didn’t press the issue. A janitor saw that there was an unauthorized person in the area and followed protocol by calling security. A security guard showed up and politely asked her to leave. Kantoute responded by posting the names and pictures of those who supposedly racially profiled her on social media, and the story blew up to national news, fanned by the ACLU. The janitor was placed on leave and the cafeteria worker been subjected to rampant harassment, including people leaving notes at her home calling her a racist. She’s struggled to find a new job because she’s become locally infamous. When the truth came out, the ACLU didn’t back down. According to the Times: Rahsaan Hall, racial justice director for the A.C.L.U. of Massachusetts and Ms. Kanoute’s lawyer, cautioned against drawing too much from the investigative report, as subconscious bias is difficult to prove. Nor was he particularly sympathetic to the accused workers. “It’s troubling that people are more offended by being called racist than by the actual racism in our society,” he said. “Allegations of being racist, even getting direct mailers in their mailbox, is not on par with the consequences of actual racism.” The ACLU makes a lot of noise about civil liberties and equality, but this incident shows they put a preferred narrative over anything resembling equality. The organization should have gotten the facts before spreading Katoute’s narrative, but now that the truth has been revealed, they have a responsibility to reverse the damage as much as possible. Using the form on this page, you can send an email to the ACLU demanding that they retract their previous statements, set the record straight, and apologize to the innocent people whose lives they helped ruin.   Campaign Update 3/10/21: The ACLU has removed the page on their website that uncritically repeats Kanoute’s false narrative, but they have not made a statement or removed other pages on their website that categorize the incident as racial profiling.

Past Campaigns

Stand Up for an Employee Fired for Using Parler and Gab

In a new low for cancel culture, The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency fired Colleen Oefelein for having accounts on the social media sites Parler and Gab. CEO Jennifer De Chiara claims she did this in the name of “unity, equality, and social justice.” She has those terms entirely backward. Sign the petition to demand that De Chiara give Oefelein her job back immediately! The news broke via a series of tweets from De Chiara: This leaves little room for doubt that Colleen Oefelein was fired solely because of her presence on these social media platforms. There have been no reports of her posting anything objectionable on these accounts or doing anything that could negatively impact her work, her clients, or her employer’s reputation. There has undoubtedly been unsavory activity on both Parler and Gab, but that is far from the only activity. Millions of decent people have sought out new outlets in fear or protest as Facebook and Twitter have increased their crackdowns on certain forms of controversial speech. The danger here is articulated well by Spiked: “Now anyone who merely uses an app is automatically tarnished thanks to the content others might have posted on it. We have reached the stage of cancel culture where you can be canceled for what others might have said. This is sinister.” One also must wonder what “unity” means to Ms. De Chiara if she finds all 15 million Parler users offensive. The De Chiara Agency’s actions are a legal gray area, but not a moral one. This is exactly the type of thing that causes division and ruins our ability to engage freely with those who have different viewpoints.  Sign the petition demanding Ms. Oefelein’s immediate reinstatement. Joining a social media platform should not cost someone their livelihood, especially not from a company that claims unity as a guiding principle.

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