The Hershey Company said on Friday it would end all American advertising on Facebook and Instagram in July as it joins the #StopHateForProfit effort by civil rights groups protesting hate speech and divisive content on the platform, according to a story. from Business Insider.
The company joins a growing list of companies boycotting Facebook and, in some cases, Twitter. Global product giant Unilever, which reported spending $ 9 billion on advertising and marketing last year, announced on Friday that it would withdraw Facebook ads because of the platform’s content. Telecommunications firm Verizon also joined the lobbying campaign on Thursday, saying it was withdrawing ads indefinitely, according to a story on the (San Diego) Mercury News website.
Jill Baskin, chief marketing officer for The Hershey Co., told Business Insider: “As a company, we uphold the values of togetherness and inclusion and are committed to our commitment to make a difference and be part of positive change. We hope Facebook takes action and makes it a safe space for our consumers to communicate and get together. ”
Baskin said the company complained to Facebook about its stance on hate speech earlier this month, but was not satisfied with the response. The company also said it cut spending on the platform by a third for the rest of the year, Business Insider reported.
The Hershey CEO said the company does not believe “that Facebook is effectively handling violent and divisive discourse on its platform.” Despite repeated claims by Facebook to take action, we have not seen significant changes, “according to Business Insider.
Unilever’s withdrawal from Facebook ads in the US will last until the end of 2020; It will also stop buying ads on Twitter during the same period, according to The Mercury News. The company tweeted on Friday morning that “the polarized atmosphere imposes greater responsibility on brands to build a reliable and secure digital ecosystem.”
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According to market research firm eMarketer, US spending on digital advertising this year is expected to exceed $ 134 billion, and Facebook is expected to earn 23% of that revenue, The Mercury News reported.
EMarketer analyst Nicole Perrin said in an e-mailed statement to The Mercury News on Friday that Unilever’s announcement is notable because it has enough influence to persuade other brand advertisers to follow and goes beyond the goals of Organizers by “cutting spending longer, on more platforms (including Twitter), and for more expansive reasons: Unilever statement cites” divide “and hate speech. That suggests a deeper problem with generated content platforms by users, “he wrote.
Unilever and Verizon’s decisions also apply to Facebook-owned Instagram. Similar statements follow from outdoor product firms REI, The North Face and Patagonia, as well as Unilever-owned ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s, according to the story.
Facebook said in an emailed statement that it invests billions of dollars annually to “keep our community safe” and works with outside experts to keep policies up-to-date, according to the Mercury News story. Twitter said it respected the advertisers’ decisions and would continue to communicate closely with them, according to the story.
