Stop AAPI Hate

The 25th Annual Webby Awards is honored to recognize Cynthia Choi, Manjusha Kulkarni, and Russell M. Jeung, the organizers behind the Stop AAPI Hate coalition, with the Webby Social Movement of the Year award for their roles in the national reckoning to stop systemic violence against the AAPI community—and for using the Internet to sound the alarm on the uptick in anti-Asian attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

As the spread of COVID-19 became classified as a pandemic, Asian Americans have experienced a rapid and endless uptick in anti-Asian violence and xenophobia, yet these attacks were widely under reported. By creating the Stop AAPI Hate coalition and online reporting center, Choi, Kulkarni and Jeung have brought awareness and urgency to the issue, sounding the alarm on the rise of anti-Asian hate. Moreover, they have given rise to a viral hashtag and rallying cry to address a national history of scapegoating and systemic violence towards Asian Americans. Using the hashtag #StopAAPIHate, the coalition has used the Internet to drive necessary public discourse on creating multi-pronged strategies to stopping anti-Asian hate that focuses on civil rights infrastructure, an investment in AAPI community organizations and ethnic studies. 

 The work being done by Stop AAPI Hate demonstrates the power of social media platforms to shed light on ongoing crises, and call others to fight against injustice with urgency. For using the Internet to document anti-Asian violence and inspire a pressing national movement to protect AAPI communities, it is our great privilege to honor Manjusha Kulkarni, Cynthia Choi, Russell M. Jeung and Stop AAPI Hate with the 2021 Webby Award for Social Movement of the Year.