‘Facebook has reportedly begun partnering with a megachurch with a notoriously anti-LGBTQ+ history.
As the New York Times reports, ahead of the grand opening of its new Atlanta outpost, the Los Angeles-based Hillsong Church reached out to the social media giant to discover “what the future of the church could be on Facebook,” according to lead pastor Sam Collier. Given the challenges of holding in-person worship services during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hillsong allegedly reached out to the tech platform for advice on how to properly utilize its social networks.
“They are teaching us, we are teaching them,” Collier told the Times.
Facebook proposed that Hillsong be used as a test case for how religious entities can “go further farther on Facebook,” according to Collier. The church’s leadership soon began meeting with representatives from the company on a weekly basis, and when the Atlanta location opened its doors in June, Hillsong announced that services would stream exclusively on Facebook.
Collier could not share further details about the agreement because of a non-disclosure agreement with the platform.
Facebook has begun deepening its relationships with faith-based groups following widespread criticism of its role in spreading COVID-19 misinformation. The Times claims that Facebook wants to “become the virtual home for the religious community” as the pandemic surges in many areas of the country following the spread of the Delta variant.’https://www.them.us/story/facebook-partnering-with-notoriously-anti-gay-megachurch-hillsong?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=pol&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_mailing=thematic_ballot_080421&utm_medium=email&bxid=5be9cb2a3f92a40469de68dc&cndid=54860030&hasha=08b5a1e2f2263b83e918fb56d7a12a3e&hashb=540cb2beb83a4ef31cb396d0878f05e711d54d68&hashc=5a05e186fc85b30f55c28204f849862c04192d97b134e516f76782809875c086&sourcecode=thematic_ballot&utm_content=B&utm_term=Thematic_Ballot_Subscribers
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