Los Angeles — Falling victim to the nasty bullying is quite common on social networking websites like Facebook. Many people encounter it but keep mum. To counter that, social media behemoth Facebook and Time Warner Inc. has announced a joint campaign urging students, parents and educators to Stop Bullying: Speak Up Social Pledge App, an interactive social media pledge everyone to make a personal commitment to help stop bullying.
This news comes on the heels of a previously disclosed partnership to jointly combat and expand Facebook and Time Warner’s individual efforts against bullying. Hence, the launch of this multi-platform campaign will blend broadcast, print and social media tools to start conversations about bullying among parents, students and educators, the companies said in a joint statement.
Marne Levine, Vice President of Global Public Policy at Facebook, in stressing their commitment against bullying:
While it is expected that mostly young people will download the app, the online tool is also aimed at bystanders–those who witness an act of bullying.
In a press release, Marne Levine, Facebook’s vice president of global public policy, said: “The Stop Bullying: Speak Up Social Pledge App is devised on the fact that students, educators and parents have the power to stop bullying by speaking up when they see it happening. The launch of this initiative reinforces our deep commitment to the safety and security of kids everywhere. By collaborating with Time Warner, our hope is to inspire millions of people who witness bullying to take action.”
This demonstrates the latest development in both companies’ long-term commitment to integrate broadcast, print, online and social media to inspire thoughtful conversation and share useful information and resources about bullying prevention, including situational recommendations for young victims and bystanders.
The Stop Bullying: Speak Up Social Pledge App is an interactive tool that enables educators, parents and teachers to commit to end bullying by signing an online pledge and recruiting others to join them. The campaign has been named after the original bullying prevention initiative by Cartoon Network.
“I’m confident that through our multi-platform approach and combined resources we can encourage even more people to take action against bullying,” said Jeff Bewkes, Chairman & CEO of Time Warner Inc.
The app, created by Tenthwave in New York, takes its title, Speak Up, from the Cartoon Network’s original bullying prevention campaign. Time Warner‘s CNN has unfurled its second Anderson Cooper 360 Town Hall special on Bullying.
Leveraging the resources of both companies, the social pledge app will be promoted across multiple platforms, from Facebook, CNN, Cartoon Network and Time Inc. (PEOPLE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and TIME) that will reach out to hundreds of millions of people.
The app also features a special welcome message from host Anderson Cooper, who has narrated numerous stories about bullying, will break news with the results of an innovative Anderson Cooper 360 special investigation that will feature the results of his investigation into why kids bully each other, along with parents, students, teachers and specialists who will discuss whether current laws and prevention methods go far enough in ending the issue.
Just over a third of teens polled in a 2010 CNN Opinion Research Corp. Poll reported they had been bullied in some way. Of the 500 students interviewed, 34% said when a fight breaks out at school, their peers stand by and do nothing.
“We believe that by working together with parents and teachers, we can teach young people to speak up and stop bullying,” said Sheryl Sandberg in the statement. She is chief operating officer at Facebook. “We care deeply about the safety of our nation’s children and are proud to be partnering with Time Warner to raise awareness of bullying.”
Bullies attack about 13 million children annually, and over 40 percent of all teenagers with Internet access have reported being bullied online during the past year, according to the National Crime Prevention Center.
The partners announced that he will host the second annual town hall on bullying on Sunday, October 9, at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time from Rutgers University in New Jersey.
The initial pledge signers include celebrities, such as Selena Gomez, Enrique Iglesias and CJ Manigo, Ali Sepasyar, and Jackson Rogow, hosts of Cartoon Network’s “Dude, What Would Happen,” who share their own personal experiences with bullying.