Boycott of Facebook by major advertising companies is hurting the social media giant’s stock price as well as Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune.
Zuckerberg’s net wealth went down by $7.21 billion as of Saturday, while Facebook’s share price dropped by more than 8% by Friday trading as the advert boycott continues.
Coca-Cola is the latest advert company to back #StopHateforProfit campaign by American civil rights groups.
On Friday, the chief executive officer of Coca-Cola, James Quincey said that the company would stop all its social media adverts while it takes time to reevaluate its policies.
“There is no place for racism in the world and there is no place for racism on social media. The Coca-Cola Company will pause paid advertising on all social media platforms globally for at least 30 days. We will take this time to reassess our advertising policies to determine whether revisions are needed. We also expect greater accountability and transparency from our social media partners,” Quincey wrote on Coca-Cola’s site.
The #StopHateforProfit campaign by the civil group began on June 19 in the wake of African American – George Floyds’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers and subsequent protests worldwide.
The campaign was triggered by Facebook’s refusal to delete a post by President Donald Trump which threatened the protesters with violence.
In his post, Donald Trump wrote “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” and also called the demonstrators “thugs.”
The campaign gave the major advertising companies pressure to rethink their advert spend on social media until stricter moderation policies are made.
The Cola-Cola company has joined corporations such as Unilever, the Hershy Co, the North Face, Verizon, and many other others who have either paused or halted their advertising with Facebook.
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The pressure by the civil group seems to be effective. By Friday last week, Zuckerberg announced Facebook will now label “newsworthy” posts from politicians that go against its rules. The move is a significant shift given the company has in the past refused to moderate politicians’ rhetoric.
The civil rights groups – NAACP, Color of Change, and the Anti-Defamation League have called on Facebook to take stronger action on those violating its regulations.
