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Joining several global brands, consumer goods major Unilever said that it has decided to stop advertising on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the US amid Facebook’s inaction over hate

speech.

“Given our Responsibility Framework and the polarized atmosphere in the U.S., we have decided that starting now through at least the end of the year, we will not run brand advertising in

social media newsfeed platforms Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the U.S. Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society,” Unilever said

in a statement on Friday.

With brands pulling advertising from Facebook and its companies, Bloomberg reported on Friday that Mark Zuckerberg became $7.2 billion poorer. This happened after Facebook’s shares fell by

over 8.3% on Friday.

“The share-price drop eliminated $56 billion from Facebook’s market value and pushed Zuckerberg’s net worth down to $82.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index,” Bloomberg

reported.

We have taken the decision to stop advertising on @Facebook, @Instagram & @Twitter in the US. The polarized atmosphere places an increased responsibility on brands to build a trusted & safe

digital ecosystem. Our action starts now until the end of 2020.https://t.co/flHhKid6jD pic.twitter.com/QdzbH2k3wx

Unilever joins several other companies including Verizon, Coca-Cola, Ben and Jerry’s, Hersheys, North Face, among others.

Coca-Cola announced its decision on Friday and James Quincey, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company said in a statement that 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,” he said.

“We have strict content policies in place and have zero tolerance when they are breached, we take action… We’re pausing our advertising until Facebook can create an acceptable solution that

makes us comfortable and is consistent with what we’ve done with YouTube and other partners,” John Nitti, Verizon’s chief media officer reportedly said in a statement.

We’re in. We’re Out @Facebook #StopHateForProfit Learn more: https://t.co/uAT7u7mjBG https://t.co/jVxTIH5ThQ

We will pause all paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram in the US in support of the #StopHateForProfit campaign. Facebook, Inc. must take the clear and unequivocal actions to stop its

platform from being used to spread and amplify racism and hate. >>>https://t.co/7OpxtcbDGg pic.twitter.com/I989Uk9V3h

In solidarity with the #StopHateForProfit movement, Magnolia Pictures has chosen to stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram, starting immediately, through at least the end of July. We are

seeking meaningful change at Facebook and the end to their amplification of hate speech.

According to CNBC, Verizon’s advertising spend on Facebook last month was around $2 million. Unilever and Verizon are reportedly among the top 100 advertisers on Facebook.

A week ago, a group of organizations launched a campaign called Stop Hate for Profit, asking advertisers to pause their spending on Facebook and Instagram ads for the month of July 2020.

In an open letter to all companies advertising on Facebook, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League wrote that when it comes to dealing with rampant hate

and harassment, Facebook continues to come up short. “What are they doing with $70 billion in revenue and $17 billion in profit? Their hate speech, incitement, and misinformation policies

are inequitable. Their harassment victim services are inadequate. Their advertising placement’s proximity to hateful content is haphazard. And their “civil rights” audit transparency reports

aren’t helpful to the civil rights community,” he wrote.

“Every day, we see ads from companies placed adjacent to hateful content, occupying the same space as extremist recruitment groups and harmful disinformation campaigns. Your ad buying

dollars are being used by the platform to increase its dominance in the industry at the expense of vulnerable and marginalized communities who are often targets of hate groups on Facebook,”

Jonathan added.

Responding to criticism Facebook has been receiving over inaction, Mark Zuckerberg, on Friday, unveiled some new policy changes to the social networking website including authoritative

information about voting, crackdown on voter suppression, and fighting hate speech.

Speaking of hate speech, he said that the platform will prohibit a wider category of hateful content in ads by expanding its ads policy to prohibit claims 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.

“We're also expanding our policies to better protect immigrants, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers from ads suggesting these groups are inferior or expressing contempt, dismissal or

disgust directed at them,” he added.