TOPLINE
A Facebook advertising boycott called by major civil rights groups continues to gain momentum with more than a dozen large companies, including Unilever, Verizon, Ben & Jerry’s, Patagonia and more, announcing that they will not work with the tech giant until “it is significant action “is taken to address disinformation and hate speech.
The Facebook logo is seen on a portable mobile device in this photo illustration on January 22, … [+]
KEY FACTS
Civil rights groups, including the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League, launched the #StopHateForProfit campaign on June 17, pressuring big companies to stop advertising with a platform they say doesn’t at least stop “bad actors who use the platform to do damage. ” until the month of July.
Coca-Cola and Unilever, which owns brands like Dove Soap and Lipton Tea, are the last major companies to announce on Friday that they will stop advertising on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the rest of the year, although Coca-Cola said this was not the case. . join the official boycott.
Verizon said it would boycott the tech giant on Thursday after the ADL wrote a letter to companies mentioning finding an ad for Verizon “appearing alongside a video by the QAnon conspiracy group based on hateful and anti-Semitic rhetoric”; Similar announcements were made this week for the open ice cream Ben & Jerry’s, clothing chain Eddie Bauer, movie distributor Magnola Pictures, messaging app Viber, beauty subscription service Birchbox, and more.
Procter & Gamble Co., which is considered an ad trendsetter, said it is reviewing all platforms it advertises on for objectionable content, according to The Wall Street Journal, and will not work “on or near content that we determine to be hateful, demeaning, or discriminatory.”
As the list continues to grow, Facebook has tried to mitigate the damage, reporting that it made an “optimistic” presentation to the agency’s advertisers and executives on Tuesday and explained that it “will not make policy changes linked to pressure from income”; But, along with Twitter, it has seen its shares drop by more than 7 percent.
North Face was the first major brand to join the boycott, announcing last Friday that it would stop all paid advertising from the US with Facebook and Instagram, closely followed by other REI and Patagonia outdoor clothing stores, and the platform. Independent Upwork.
Dozens of smaller companies have similarly engaged, and various advertising agencies encouraged their clients to stay away from Facebook; The start of online therapy, Talkspace, pulled out of a six-figure content partnership agreement with Facebook earlier this month, and web browsing company Mozilla stopped advertising with Facebook in 2018 after the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Key quote
“For too long, Facebook has not taken sufficient steps to stop the spread of hateful lies and dangerous propaganda on its platform,” Patagonia wrote in its statement. “From secure elections to a global pandemic to racial justice, there is much at stake to sit back and let the company continue to be complicit in spreading disinformation and fostering fear and hatred.”
Big number
Facebook generated $ 69.7 billion in advertising last year, behind Google as the second-largest digital seller.
Key background
Facebook has come under fire from civil rights leaders, employees, and more for its handling of misinformation, intensified by weeks of protests against racism worldwide. The calls for change began after Facebook refused to verify a series of Trump tweets, including one early on in the George Floyd protests that warned that the “looting” would lead to “shooting,” with the Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, making clear his position that social media companies should not be “arbiters of the truth”. The #StopHateForProfit campaign website accuses Facebook of facilitating violence, voter repression and spreading fake news. “Let’s send Facebook a powerful message: Your profits will never be worth promoting hate, bigotry, racism, anti-Semitism and violence,” the website read.
Further reading
“North Face becomes the first major brand to join the Facebook boycott” (Forbes)
“The Facebook-Twitter Showdown on Freedom of Expression: Are the Warnings Justified?” (Forbes)
“Google initiates images of verification of facts in the middle of the repression of disinformation” (Forbes)
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