Facebook, Instagram and Twitter Targeted: Major Brands Join Together in Boycott

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The social media’s positioning in relation to issues such as hate speech and racism is leading to a boycott by major companies, which have announced the suspension of investments in advertising on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The action against the platforms has been joined by the multinational consumer goods company Unilever, which announced it would not conduct marketing initiatives on social media in the USA until the end of this year. Unilever, with popular brands such as Hellmann’s and Dove, is one of the largest advertisers in the world, having invested over US$8 (R$44) billion in marketing last year.

Other major brands are reinforcing the trend: this is the case of Coca-Cola, which reported on Friday evening, June 26th, a global blockade on social media marketing actions during the month of July.

“We will use this time to reassess our policies and advertising standards to determine whether we need to conduct internal reviews and which actions we should expect from our social media partners to free the platforms from hate speech, violence, and inappropriate content,” the company said.

The companies’ positions are announced after pressure from social justice organizations. Increasingly, civil society institutions detail how large corporations support hate speech through advertising funds.

Also on Friday, Honda’s US operations announced the suspension of investment in marketing through Facebook and Instagram. As reported by Coca-Cola, the initiative is effective for July.

“We chose to stand by the people who are united against hatred and racism. Our positions are in line with our company’s values based on human respect,” Honda said in a statement.

Facebook has been criticized for its decision not to take action on posts by President Donald Trump, who stated the potential use of violence in the recent wave of protests that shook the United States following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.

Source: Exame

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