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Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore Seek to End Online Slave Trafficking

By DNAinfo Staff on September 24, 2010 11:33am

By Olivia Scheck

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — Twitter maven Ashton Kutcher is leveraging his massive following in a bid to end online slave trafficking.

The Armani model-turned-televison star and his age-defying wife, actress Demi Moore, announced the launch of their new campaign, "Real Men Don't Buy Girls" during a Manhattan press conference at former President Bill Clinton's annual humanitarian forum on Thursday.

The couple was among the high-powered heads of state, business leaders and non-governmental organizations who attended Thursday's Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting, where attendees convene for several days each year to discuss the world's most dire problems.

Married actors, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, announced the launch of their new anti-slave trafficking campaign,
Married actors, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, announced the launch of their new anti-slave trafficking campaign, "Real Men Don't Buy Girls," in Manhattan on Thursday.
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AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Kutcher, the third most followed person on Twitter — behind Lady Gaga and Britney — had been invited to participate in a panel discussion called "Democracy and Voice: Technology For Citizen Empowerment and Human Rights."

President Barack Obama, who occupies the fourth place seat on the Twitter leader board after Kutcher, delivered the closing remarks at Clinton's gathering Thursday evening following his earlier address to the U.N. General Assembly.

During Kutcher and Moore's press conference, an emotional Kutcher reminded the crowd that slavery did not end with the emancipation proclamation.

"The unfortunate truth is there are more slaves in the world today than ever before in human history," said the former "That 70's Show" star.

"There are a million slaves in the United States of America today."

To address the problem, Kutcher and Moore announced the creation of an anti-trafficking task force, which will monitor the internet to seek out online slave traders.

The announcement came on the heels of a high profile political effort by current Twitter queen, Lady Gaga, to end the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.