Combatting Racist Online Comments With Billboards

Be careful when you next comment on a controversial topic online because you could find your comment blown up for all to see on a billboard near you.

Criola uses the geotagging feature that is on every post to identify the whereabouts of the commenter then blows-up their comments with the intention that they’ll know they can not hide behind the computer. You can post things you normally wouldn’t say to someone’s face in real life while hiding behind a screen name, meaning that the person has no way of knowing who you are. They then buy local advertising space to publish these messages on billboards.

‘We don’t let that happen.

In a bid to put an end to racism, or at least stem its spread, in Brazil there is an anti-racism campaign going on in which racist comments that are posted online, are instead posted onto a billboard. If this “Virtual racism, real consequences” initiative can even combat racism a little bit, how far away is a similar movement from showing up in the United States? However, if someone like Anonymous REALLY wanted to out a bunch of racists they could just hack a digital billboard to geotag racist posts on Twitter and broadcast it to an entire highway, or just find a billboard company that accepts Bitcoin.

The organization, founded by a group of black women in 1992, works to raise awareness about racism in the country and promote equality.

According to organizer Jurema Werneck, the initiative is meant to encourage people to confront racism, speak out about racial abuse and make people think twice about posting racist comments on social media.