Microsoft has paused advertising spending on Facebook and Instagram at least until August, the company confirmed Monday after Axios first reported the news, citing an internal transcript of the chat.
The company first suspended advertising on social media in the US in May and more recently stopped spending globally, Axios reported Monday. Microsoft confirmed the Axios report to Business Inisder.
Facebook’s market value has dropped by $ 60 billion in the past two days as advertisers, including Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and PepsiCo, are pausing spending as part of a boycott in response to Facebook’s inaction on hate speech.
According to the Axios report, Microsoft is not participating in the boycott, but it is pausing advertising spending because it is concerned about where the company’s ads will appear. The company reportedly cited “hate speech, pornography, terrorist content, etc.” as examples of “inappropriate content”, but, in the Axios-reviewed transcript, he didn’t explicitly say what kind of content he didn’t want his ads to appear.
“Our experience tells us that the most impactful means of achieving genuine change in the long term is through direct dialogue and meaningful action with our media partners, including suspending actual marketing dollars,” said director of marketing for Microsoft Chris Capossela in an internal Yammer post, according to the Axios report.
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