Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
▪ Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry, Leonardo DiCaprio and other celebrities took part in a 24-hour Instagram “freeze” on Wednesday to protest against what they say is parent company Facebook’s failure to tackle violent and hateful content and election misinformation. Hollywood stars and influencers are lending their backing to the “#StopHateforProfit” movement’s latest campaign. The movement asks people to put up a message highlighting what they called the damage Facebook does but otherwise refrain from posting on Instagram for a day. “I can’t sit by and stay silent while these platforms continue to allow the spreading of hate, propaganda and misinformation — created by groups to sow division and split America apart — only to take steps after people are killed,” Kardashian West posted on her Instagram account Tuesday. With 188 million followers, Kardashian West is one of the most influential people on Instagram. Facebook declined to comment but pointed to recent announcements about what it’s doing to limit the reach on its platform of groups that support violence and its efforts to protect the U.S. election in November. The organizers behind “#StopHateforProfit,” including civil rights groups such as the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP and Color of Change, had previously led a campaign that got hundreds of brands and nonprofits to join a Facebook advertising boycott in July.
▪ CNBC’s Jim Cramer apologized Tuesday for calling House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “crazy Nancy” during an interview, saying he was trying to make a point about Washington intolerance that fell flat. The fast-talking former hedge fund trader, one of CNBC’s leading personalities for two decades, was interviewing Pelosi on negotiations on a relief bill for those hurt financially by the pandemic. “What deal can we have, crazy Nancy?” he said during the interview. He immediately indicated that he was channeling President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly used that derisive nickname for Pelosi. “I have such reverence for the office I would never use that term,” he said. “But you just did,” Pelosi said. “Oh, come on,” Cramer said. “You know what I mean.” When he received criticism on Twitter, Cramer defended himself and suggested his intentions were obvious. “I challenge anyone to listen to the interview and think I wasn’t imitating what the president says and how repulsive I find it,” he tweeted. On his show “Mad Money” later, however, Cramer said that he had made a very stupid comment. “It was a tongue-in-cheek attempt to make a point about the harsh tone of negotiations in Washington,” he said. “But it fell completely flat, and I apologize for that.” There was no immediate comment from CNBC.