What happened
Verizon became the latest entity to support the “Stop Hate for Profit” campaign backed by multiple civil rights groups in the United States, Reuters reported.
A Verizon spokesperson told Newswire: “We are pausing our advertising until Facebook can create an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable.”
The social media giant responded to the campaign saying it is working with civil rights organizations.
Carolyn Everson, vice president of global business for Facebook, said: “We respect the decision of any brand and remain focused on the important work of eliminating hate speech and providing critical voting information.”
On Thursday, Meg Graham, a CNBC advertising and marketing journalist, citing data from Pathmatics, tweeted about the financial impact on Facebook of Verizon’s decision to stop advertising. Pathmatics is a marketing analysis company.
According to Pathmatics, Verizon spent an estimated $ 406,600 on IG ads between 5 / 22-6 / 20. The firm said Verizon spent $ 1,460,300 on FB in that same period (becoming the 78th largest advertiser on FB in that period. , with P&G, HBO, Biden and Trump spending more in that period on FB) https://t.co/CBldUKBCqy
– Meg Graham (@megancgraham) June 25, 2020
Because it is important
Stop Hate for Profit accuses Facebook of allowing “inciting violence against protesters who are fighting for racial justice in the United States.”
On Tuesday, ice cream maker Ben and Jerry’s announced their support for the campaign, backed by NAACP and AFL, by suspending advertising on Facebook.
Price action
On Thursday, Verizon shares closed 0.65% higher at $ 54.28.
Facebook shares traded 0.92% lower at $ 233.50 in Thursday’s off-hours session. The shares closed the regular session 0.71% lower at $ 235.68.
