Jess Hernandez
Jess Hernandez
Jess Hernandez was inspired to join Airbnb so she could help keep extremists, gangsters and terrorists out of homes being advertised by the company’s platform. Airbnb’s determination to keep its guests and homeowners safe – particularly in the aftermath of the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally in 2017 and the January 6 insurrection in Washington in 2021, when neo-Nazis and other extremists traveled across the country and went looking for places to stay – was what drew her to work at Airbnb in the first place.
The company’s resolve wavered, however, when it found itself in the right wing media spotlight in early 2023. Airbnb had denied service to the parents of Lauren Southern, a prominent far right personality known for speaking at neo-Nazi rallies. This was a standard procedure instituted to prevent those banned from Airbnb from using the accounts of close family members to circumvent their own ban, and thus, the spirit of Airbnb’s Dangerous Organizations policy. Southern took to Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox News to complain that she and her parents were the victims of Big Tech discrimination. Carlson himself accused Airbnb of going “full North Korea.”
In response, Airbnb reinstated Southern’s parents and quietly set about dismantling, undermining and all but shutting down the anti-extremist unit where Jess worked. Convicted January 6th rioters and members of the Proud Boys and other extremist groups were no longer being banned, as they would have been previously.
None of this stopped the company from continuing to tout its anti-extremist policy – on its website and in materials shared with investors and shareholders – as though nothing had changed. Jess watched in disbelief and disappointment, feeling that the public was being deceived. When the company told her that if she and her team didn’t like this, they could leave, she knew she had to act.
With the help of Whistleblower Aid, Jess secured protection as a lawful whistleblower, and her story about Airbnb reneging on its commitment to guest safety garnered national attention. NBC News broke the story both in print and on television, and outlets including CNN followed suit in the days after. Jess’ disclosure was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and with the Federal Trade Commission, and she has briefed several members of Congress and their staff.
