For Immediate Release
November 16, 2021
Contact: Solice Scott, 202.244.4450, media@stoponlinevaw.com

Critical Race Theory (CRT) has been a hot topic as of late, as politicians from 26 states have introduced bills in an attempt to block it from K-12 curriculum in various states. Importantly, these bills have nothing to do with what is being taught in schools but rather, are being used as a weapon to rile up the GOP base. The reality of CRT is that it is a topic that was birthed by civil rights and legal scholars 40 years ago, and only taught in Law School, which is why up until a year ago, few people outside of academia had actually heard of it.

Stop Online Violence Against Women Inc. (SOVAW), founded by technology strategist and digital analyst Shireen Mitchell, has been laying the groundwork for exposing how bad domestic actors, social platforms, and politicians have subverted Democracy. With her data analysts, Mitchell has tracked and documented how efforts to control the narrative are being adopted by mainstream media, who rather than challenge the storyline, have become an echo chamber, amplifying and extending the reach of what is, in reality, the actual ‘Big Lie.’

 “Through our research, we have found that extremist voices from conservative media have dominated the online discussions and that Black scholarship, which teaches CRT in higher academic institutions, has been silenced,” Mitchell said. “Much of this is due to the virality of actors on the political right as they leverage CRT for political propaganda, while politicians on the left feign ignorance.” 

SOVAW’s research provides evidence that media content that is shared about CRT is predominantly conservative, which indicates that there is a Conservative bias with regard to rhetoric that targets Black identity and rarely includes factual content. Importantly, anti-CRT stories have the greatest degree of interactions on social media platforms, while attempts to clarify what CRT is and where it is being taught, as well as efforts to include Black scholars in these conversations and stories get very little play and few impressions. 

SOVAW’s data also reinforce that the mainstream media in the U.S. have taken a backseat and that the GOP has weaponized racism while the Democratic Party chooses to ignore it, hoping that it will get lost in the news cycle. 

It’s time to expose the actual ‘Big Lie’ that started in 2016 as ‘Stop the Steal’, a disinformation campaign. We invite you to interview Shireen Mitchell about her latest report on CRT that exposes these facts.

About SOVAW

SOVAW is a nonprofit that addresses inadequate laws and policies that lack protections for women in particular women of color. We focus on online violence against women, laws, and policy changes needed at the local, state, and federal levels. We also focus on technology and social media company’s accountability. SOVAW serves as a resource of services and options for women and women of color, based on their level of targeted harassment or violence. We report on the diverse issues and impacts for those who are willing to share their stories. This includes digital voter suppression. We are a nonpartisan organization.