Starbucks on Sunday joined the drumbeat of brands pledging to pull advertising\u00a0from Facebook and other social media platforms or taking\u00a0other actions, putting economic\u00a0pressure on the \u2026<\/b>
\nStarbucks on Sunday joined the drumbeat of brands pledging to pull advertising from Facebook and other social media platforms or taking other actions, putting economic pressure on the companies to address concerns about containing hate speech.
The coffee chain joins big brands including Coca-Cola, Unilever, Hershey, Honda, Eddie Bauer, The North Face, Levi’s, Ben & Jerry’s and Verizon in taking various steps.
Much of the activity stems from the #StopHateForProfit campaign, which includes the NAACP, Anti-Defamation League, Sleeping Giants, Color of Change, Free Press and Common Sense.
While some of the brands have pledged to halt advertising in July, some are taking additional steps or different approaches.
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\u00ab\u00a0We will pause advertising on all social media platforms while we continue discussions internally, with our media partners and with civil rights organizations in the effort to stop the spread of hate speech,\u00a0\u00bb Starbucks said in a statement. The company said it’s not part of the boycott.
Hershey said it will cut spending on Facebook and Instagram by a third for the rest of the year. Coca-Cola said it plans to pause advertising on all social media platforms for at least 30 days while it revisits its advertising policies.
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\u00ab\u00a0We also expect greater accountability and transparency from our social media partners,\u00a0\u00bb reads a statement from James Quincey, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola.
Patagonia, REI, Mozilla and Upwork and about 100 smaller companies have said they are committed to the advertising boycott.
After Coke joined the boycott, Rashad Robinson, president of civil rights organization Color Of Change, tweeted: \u00ab\u00a0One of the most recognizable global brands in the world is halting their @Facebook advertising. Coke’s commitment to #StopHateForProfit, along with Unilever and Verizon just in the last 24 hours, is a warning sign for Facebook.\u00a0\u00bb
On Friday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined in a livestream several steps he said the social network will take ahead of the 2020 presidential election to combat hate speech. Among the planned steps: pushing back against voter suppression, boosting standards for hateful content in ads, and labeling content deemed newsworthy.
Facebook’s policies surrounding divisive posts have been scrutinized after the platform left published a post from President Donald Trump following protests over the death of George Floyd. In the post, Trump said \u00ab\u00a0when the looting starts, the shooting starts.\u00a0\u00bb
Zuckerberg has defended leaving the post untouched, saying Facebook should allow for as much free expression as possible. A similar post published to Twitter carried a warning the tweet was \u00ab\u00a0glorifying violence.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0I’m optimistic that we can make progress on public health and racial justice while maintaining our democratic traditions around free expression and voting,\u00a0\u00bb wrote Zuckerberg Friday. \u00ab\u00a0I’m committed to making sure Facebook is a force for good on this journey.\u00a0\u00bb
How much the campaign hurts Facebook depends on how many companies get involved.
\u00ab\u00a0If we’re limited to 10 to 15 big-name advertisers who join the boycott, I think it’s more symbolic and it would have limited impact on Facebook’s business.\u00a0\u00bb said Baird analyst Colin Sebastian. \u00ab\u00a0The fear is that this snowballs into something much larger.\u00a0\u00bb
Last week, during a speech at Cannes Lion Live, Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer for P&G, said the company would conduct a \u00ab\u00a0comprehensive review\u00a0\u00bb of where it is advertising. \u00ab\u00a0Where standards of responsibility and civility are not met, we will stop our spending, just like we\u2019ve done before,\u00a0\u00bb he said.
Among the steps outlined by Zuckerberg Friday: posts that would typically violate its policies but remain on the platform will include a label noting the content they are sharing may violate their policies. He also said the company would not provide any exemptions to content that incites violence or suppresses voting.
\u00ab\u00a0Even if a politician or government official says it, if we determine that content may lead to violence or deprive people of their right to vote, we will take that content down,\u00a0\u00bb he said. \u00ab\u00a0Similarly, there are no exceptions for politicians in any of the policies I’m announcing here today.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0People can agree or disagree on where we should draw the line, but I hope they understand our overall philosophy is that it is better to have this discussion out in the open, especially when the stakes are so high,\u00a0\u00bb Zuckerberg said earlier this month.
The decision prompted outcry from both current and former employees urging more action. Several employees went on Twitter to protest the decision, while a group of former Facebook employees wrote an open letter published by The New York Times calling the company’s move \u00ab\u00a0cowardly.\u00a0\u00bb
Zuckerberg said Friday Facebook plans to expand what qualifies as hateful content in ads, prohibiting \u00ab\u00a0claims that people from a specific race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, gender identity or immigration status are a threat to the physical safety, health or survival of others.\u00a0\u00bb
The policies will also focus on ads targeting immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. \u00ab\u00a0We already restrict certain types of content in ads that we allow in regular posts, but we want to do more to prohibit the kind of divisive and inflammatory language that has been used to sow discord,\u00a0\u00bb said Zuckerberg.
Contributing: Kelly Tyko.
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.<\/p>\n