White nationalist violence fueled by unregulated social media platforms has killed dozens of people in tragic mass shootings in communities including Gilroy, California, and El Paso, Texas. These acts of racial terror are a reflection and result of tech platforms that refuse to address how their online spaces enable and elevate white nationalism.

As Black and Brown people, our real world safety is on the line. Our communities are under attack as hate crimes and acts of white nationalist violence and terror against us continue to skyrocket. We deserve accountability from the platforms that make it all too easy for white nationalist violence to spread from online to offline.

Two years after the Unite the Right, the most deadly white nationalist march in years, it’s important to take stock of what online platforms have done — or haven’t done — to stop the spread of white nationalism.

While the rally, murder of peaceful protester Heather Heyer, and brutal assault of DeAndre Harris served as a wake-up call for many tech companies, Twitter has done very little to stop white nationalists from organizing, fundraising, recruiting and normalizing attacks on women and people of color on its platform. In fact, Twitter continues to embolden the white nationalists who participated in Charlottesville’s deadly riot, legitimizing their hate speech with verified accounts.

Words have consequences. White nationalists, with Trump at the helm, have consistently dehumanized our communities, calling us “invaders,” an “invasion,” and an “infestation,” on social media — words we saw parroted in the El Paso shooter's manifesto.

Twitter has allowed white nationalists to run rampant on its platform, and has refused to remove them even after they used the platform to publicize their acts of violence and organize real-world events centered on their hateful ideology. Twitter’s failure to stand strong against white nationalists is putting Black people, people of color, immigrants, religious minorities, LGBTQIA+ people, and women — common targets of organized online hate — in danger.

Toxic hate speech should not be amplified by an online platform that boasts of being a place for healthy conversation and debate. It’s long past time for Twitter to step up.