A growing number of advertisers including Ben & Jerrys, DeVry University, Honda, and Sesame Street have joined civil rights groups in a new campaign “Stop Hate for Profit” to temporarily halt advertising spend on Facebook and Instagram in the month of July, some organizations have gone as far as stopping all advertising on social through the end of 2020. The movement’s goal is to pressure Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg to address Facebook’s impact on society, and follow Twitter’s lead to draw a definitive line regarding hate speech that cannot be crossed in on-platform discussion.
As of 2019, nearly 99% of Facebook’s $70 billion revenue comes directly from advertising, and many say the social media giant should do more to protect Black users and call out hate speech. The groups are asking Facebook to take clear and actionable steps as outlined on the Stop Hate for Profit website which include accountability, decency and support. Mark Zuckerberg posted an update in response to the movement on June 26th, “Many of the changes we’re announcing today come directly from feedback from the civil rights community and reflect months of work with our civil rights auditors…Facebook stands for giving people a voice — especially people who have previously not had as much voice or power to share their experiences.” The Facebook post goes into detail on 4 major initiatives the company is implementing:
- Providing Authoritative Information on Voting
- Steps to Fight Voter suppression
- Establishing higher standards for hateful content in ads
- Proactively labeling newsworthy content
While word is spreading among advertisers, a recent Google Consumer Survey highlighted that 70% of Facebook/Instagram users were either unaware of the boycott, or unsure how they felt about it. The highest rates of approval for the boycott came from 18-24 year olds, followed closely by users over 65.
We understand that not all organizations, especially non-profits, have the ability to stop advertising. What is important is to evaluate if pausing Facebook or Instagram spend makes sense for your organization:
- Who is your audience, are they active Facebook users?
- What are your organization’s marketing goals?
- Does Facebook’s policy violate/conflict with your company’s values and/or mission statement?
After reviewing these questions your organization may be consider joining the #StopHateforProfit movement. If so, your Mogo team can discuss your opportunities to re-allocate any planned Facebook or Instagram spend to alternative channels, tailored to your audience and campaign goals. We are here to support our partners to align their media investment, goals, and needs.