Is the social media giant’s myth starting to unravel? The idea behind Facebook is great – anything posted to their network is pretty much the responsibility of the poster. They do have checks, but they’re sometimes automated or often in reaction to another user’s complaint.
This freedom to post to has made Facebook the perfect location for anyone looking to promote hate or a hateful message. Some see the unfettered ability to broadcast a message with the likelihood that those messages will go unaltered as freedom of speech.
Many are now accusing Facebook of using this content to hook in users and using those eyeballs to generate ad revenue. The Facebook boycott is a visible reaction to Facebook serving ads alongside this type of hateful content.
A safe place for Big Brand Advertising?
The myth that this can be a safe place for brands to advertise has always seemed far fetched. Brands have for many years just hoped their output wasn’t going to pop up next to hateful content. The holy grail of targeted advertising had too strong an appeal.
Stop Hate for Profit – The Facebook Boycott
One major company after another is finally waking up to compassionate marketing, Black Lives matter, hate matters, all these things are connected.
North Face joined the Facebook boycott and has said it was halting ads “until stricter policies are put in place to stop racist, violent or hateful content and misinformation from circulating on the platform.”
Trusting an algorithm to spot hate in an image is a stretch, but hiring thousands of people at a decent wage and with the safety backup needed for this type of gruelling work isn’t going to make the shareholders happy. Those shareholders might come knocking anyway if FB stock continues to slide.
Having a Brand Purpose
There has been a significant push in recent years for brands to articulate their brand purpose. Perhaps their brand purpose is to stay away from platforms that harbour hate and campaign to make social media a more inclusive place?
If more of the top 100 advertisers join this Facebook boycott, perhaps their combined efforts can make the world a kinder place.
