Bumble, OkCupid Among First Dating Apps to Confront Hate Groups

In the wake of the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend, two dating app companies have stepped forward to ban white supremacists from their platforms and offer donations to organizations that fight against hate groups.

OkCupid has offered a donation to a Charlottesville victim relief group, which is helping support victims of the attacks that shook the community in early August. Bumble has also stepped forward, announcing its partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, pledging a “zero tolerance policy against misogynist, abusive, and inappropriate behaviour.”

Bumble stated it will use the ADL’s “research and terminology” to identify and categorize hate symbols, and prevent people who use hate speech and symbols from using the dating platform.

The so-called “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, a small college town in Virginia, brought together white supremacists, Neo-Nazis and other hate groups. Participants were openly chanting hate speech, carrying torches and armed with guns, and were photographed during the event by media outlets and counter-protestors. When the photos were posted on social media, there was a public call for friends, co-workers and family members to identify these participants who were openly inciting fear and violence. One high profile alt-right participant Chris Cantwell, who was interviewed in a special report for Vice News that went viral, was discovered to have a dating profile on OkCupid. Within ten minutes of finding this out, OkCupid banned him for life.

In a statement, chief executive Elie Seidman said: "We’ve been public about kicking Cantwell off of OkCupid because of our responsibility to be clear about the human values of our community – who we’re for and the kind of person to person interaction we stand for. The formula for this one was easy: 'Nazi or supremacist = bad.'”

Bumble, a female-friendly dating app, has had its own share of misogynistic attacks from hate groups online, leading up to the tragedy in Charlottesville. The company shared in a statement: “Last week, a neo-Nazi media site published an article to their community urging them to call and email our team with harassing statements, given Bumble’s stance towards promoting women’s empowerment.”

Founder Whitney Wolfe started the dating app to help level the playing field in online dating by ensuring that only women can initiate communication. She’d noticed on other dating apps that men often left lewd comments and photos for their dates, and she wanted women to feel safe and confident while they were online dating.

Bumble and OkCupid are standing firmly against hate groups and daters who spread hateful messages, and hopefully other dating apps will follow suit.