March 18, 2021
After the recent events of hate against the Asian American Community in the US, WhatsApp has condemned the acts of xenophobia, violence, and intolerance, in a statement issued Thursday.
The widely-used app posted its message on Twitter with a caption: “We stand beside the Asian American Pacific Islander community today and every day.”
WhatsApp, in its message, has urged to stop the incidents occurring in the West.
"To the Asian community and everybody who has been impacted and hurt by recent events, we see you and stand with you,” it added.
Read more: WhatsApp testing feature to allow messages to disappear after 24 hours
Unlawful acts directly targeting Asian American community members have risen exponentially, according to the United States Department of Justice.
According to the free press journal, which quoted Asian American advocacy groups, more than 3,000 incidents of abuse against Asian Americans were reported between March and December 2020. There were only 216 reported cases in 2019, according to FBI statistics.