A rightwing militia prepared to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Who else was behind this violent plot? Donald Trump…and Facebook.

Trump regularly broadcasts dangerous lies and instigates racist and sexist violence online. He encouraged attacks on Governor Whitmer for her work to protect people from Covid-19. He spewed racist slurs directed at Kamala Harris after she called out his failures on the debate stage.

Rightwing extremists used Facebook to plot this attack on Governor Whitmer. They may have been stopped, but other violent extremist groups are still using Facebook to recruit, peddle racist conspiracy theories, and harass women leaders online.

Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and other women of color leaders have been reporting death threats and online abuse for years.

Instead of protecting women leaders, Facebook amplifies rightwing disinformation and harassment. A company executive just admitted that racist and sexist conspiracies actually have an advantage on Facebook's algorithms. That's how rightwing extremist groups recruit new members and spread malicious lies and plan attacks so effectively on the platform.

Facebook cashes in on racist and sexist clicks. The company leaves women of color leaders in real danger. Hateful disinformation can ruin their election chances. Others are scared away from politics altogether.

And yet brave women still push forward to fight for all of us. Gretchen Whitmer is carrying on with her head held high. For the first time in history, a Black woman is our Vice Presidential candidate.

Up and down the ballot, more women are courageously running for office to take back power. They're going up against Trump, Facebook, and growing rightwing hate groups and trolls– they can't do it alone.

The election is just days away and the stakes are higher than ever for women, especially for Black, Indigenous, and women of color. Our lives and bodies are on the line. It's up to us to protect our candidates and our democracy from Facebook, and we don't have much time.