Facebook Responds To Advertiser Boycott

Facebook Responds To Advertiser Boycott
Edward Pollitt
By Edward Pollitt
SHARE
THIS



Facebook has responded to the current advertiser walkout, reaffirming it “does not profit from hate”.

Company VP of global affairs and communications Nick Clegg [feature image] – who previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom under David Cameron – outlined the current complexities facing the social network.

“Facebook has come in for much criticism in recent weeks following its decision to allow controversial posts by President Trump to stay up, and misgivings on the part of many people, including companies that advertise on our platform, about our approach to tackling hate speech.

“I want to be unambiguous: Facebook does not profit from hate.

“Billions of people use Facebook and Instagram because they have good experiences — they don’t want to see hateful content, our advertisers don’t want to see it, and we don’t want to see it. There is no incentive for us to do anything but remove it.”

The advertiser boycott has so far seen the likes of The Coca-Cola Company, Starbucks, Unilever and Diageo pause advertising across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in response to what they believe to be poor handling of hate speech.

The boycott has been dubbed the #StopHateforProfit campaign.

Clegg outlined the current tools in place to help Facebook filter out such hate speech.

“Unfortunately, zero tolerance doesn’t mean zero incidences. With so much content posted every day, rooting out the hate is like looking for a needle in a haystack. We invest billions of dollars each year in people and technology to keep our platform safe.

“We have tripled — to more than 35,000 — the people working on safety and security. We’re a pioneer in artificial intelligence technology to remove hateful content at scale.”

Clegg pointed to a recent European Commission report that found Facebook assessed 95.7 per cent of hate speech reports in less than 24 hours and suggested the platform is able to detect 90 per cent of hate speech before someone reports it.

But it seems the focal point of Facebook’s response to the advertiser boycott will be a mass voting campaign ahead of the upcoming US Presidential election.

This week every Facebook user of voting age in the US will be given information on their News Feed to register to vote.

“We understand that many of our critics are angry about the inflammatory rhetoric President Trump has posted on our platform and others, and want us to be more aggressive in removing his speech,” Clegg said.

“As a former politician myself, I know that the only way to hold the powerful to account is ultimately through the ballot box.”

 

Please login with linkedin to comment

Facebook nick clegg

Latest News

Hands using mobile payments, Digital marketing. Banking network. Online shopping and icon customer networking connection on virtual screen, Business technology concept
  • Media

IAS Report: Australian Digital Advertisers Experience Higher Brand Risks Across All Buying

Today, Integral Ad Science (IAS), a global leader in digital ad verification, released its Media Quality Report (MQR) for H2 2020, providing transparency into the performance and quality of Australian digital media, alongside global comparisons. Integral Ad Science’s H2 2020 MQR highlights brand safety, ad fraud, and viewability trends across display, video, mobile web, and […]

Quintis Appoints Illuminate As Global PR Partner
  • Media

Quintis Appoints Illuminate As Global PR Partner

Quintis Sandalwood has appointed Illuminate as its global PR partner following a competitive pitch process. Proudly Australian, Quintis produces and markets Indian Sandalwood oil, logs, chips and powder products across the world to major companies in industries such as fragrance, aromatherapy, cosmetics, handicrafts and Traditional Chinese Medicine industries. Illuminate will be responsible for a global communications […]

Image lead story Even More Pics From The 30 Under 30 Awards!
  • Media

Even More Pics From The 30 Under 30 Awards!

Hopefully the weekend has given everyone enough time to recover from B&T’s 30 Under 30 awards and prepare themselves for our official photo dump! We shared some of the highlights last week, and now you can peruse all of the pictures taken on the night. Thank you to everyone for attending this year’s awards, and […]

Recommended

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Kinderling Kids Streams Ahead With Direct-To-Consumer Offering
  • Marketing

Kinderling Kids Streams Ahead With Direct-To-Consumer Offering

Kinderling Kids Radio (Kinderling) has announced the completion of its move from DAB+, where it launched six years ago, to a direct-to-consumer streaming model, accessible online or through the Kinderling Kids iOS and Android app. The Parent Brand, the parent company of Kinderling Kids and Babyology, made the decision to shift as streaming and on-demand […]

RUN Take On The Flu
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns

RUN Take On The Flu

Globally award-winning, indie agency RUN, have launched the New Zealand National Influenza Immunization Campaign, running over the next 8 weeks across TV, digital, social, print and press.

Audika Says Stop Ignoring The ‘Whats’ And Get A Hearing Test, Via Ward6
  • Campaigns

Audika Says Stop Ignoring The ‘Whats’ And Get A Hearing Test, Via Ward6

Most people over 60 stay on top of their health with regular check-ups. Whether it’s eyes, prostate or breasts, they realise at their age it’s important. But one that gets ignored is hearing. They’d rather live with gradual hearing loss, and continually ask what, huh, pardon or sorry until it seriously impacts their life and […]

Connecting Plots To Handle [yellow tail] Social Media Following Account Win
  • Media
  • Technology

Connecting Plots To Handle [yellow tail] Social Media Following Account Win

Creative communications agency Connecting Plots has been appointed by Casella Family Brands to handle the social media accounts for [yellow tail] wine in Australia. The win follows an audit of the Casella Family Brands social activities, which led to [yellow tail] rethinking its approach to social media and how it aligns with its overall marketing […]

HERO’s B.B.E Wins v2food Account
  • Media

HERO’s B.B.E Wins v2food Account

v2food, has appointed HERO’s B.B.E as the lead strategic and creative agency for the brand following a competitive pitch process. v2food is an Australian pioneering food technology business with a global vision to feed the planet sustainably. After launching nationally in 2019, v2food has been on a mission to offer Australians an easy alternative to meat […]

Rows of coins isolated on white background. Finance and banking concept.
  • Media

Magnite And Adform See Monetisation Uplift Using First-Party Identifiers

Magnite (Nasdaq: MGNI), the largest independent sell-side advertising platform, today announced it has been working with Adform, the only independent global ad management platform covering all aspects of the digital campaign lifecycle, to scale first party identifiers in privacy-safe ways. With the pending elimination of third-party cookies, the industry must establish future-proof identity solutions for publishers and buyers.

Martin Box Named Co-Chair Of Commercial Producers Council
  • Media

Martin Box Named Co-Chair Of Commercial Producers Council

The Commercial Producers Council is delighted to announce the appointment of Martin Box (pictured) as its new Co-Chair, effective immediately. Box, Head of Production at Airbag, joins Co-Chair Pip Smart, and fills the vacancy left by Lucas Jenner who steps aside from the Co-Chair role after four years of service, in accordance with the CPC’s […]