Coca-Cola a global beverage maker announced to pause its advertising on all social media platforms globally for at least 30 days. However, the company also clarified that it was not for the sake of joining the official boycott.
A group of organizations have called on Facebook advertisers to pause their ad spending during the month of July. In the wake of this, since last week; more than 90 marketers including Verizon, Lending Club, Patagonia, REI, and the North Face have proclaimed their intentions to join, according to a running list from sleeping giants. The group of organizations includes the Anti-defamation league, Sleeping Giants, the NAAP, Color of Change, Free Press, and Common Sense.
Coco-Cola CEO and Chairman, James Quincey says in a statement – “There is no place for racism in the world and there is no place for racism in social media.”
CEO further adds – “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 social media partners.”
Since a long time, Coca-Cola has been supporting NASCAR’s only black driver, Bubba Wallace. It has also been posting quotes about diversity and ending racism on its Twitter account.
The announcement of Coca-Cola queued after Unilever, whose brands include Dove, Ben and Jerry’s, and Hellmann’s, said Friday it will halt advertising on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in the US at least through Dec. 31.
Levi’s and Dockers followed Coca-Cola’s announcement and join the protest saying that – “Facebook must take actions to stop misinformation and hate speech on its platforms. It is an unacceptable affront to our values. We and Dockers are joining the #stophateforprofit campaign and pausing all ads on Facebook.”
Hershey’s also announced – “We do not believe that Facebook is effectively managing violent and divisive speech on their platform. Despite repeated assertions by Facebook to take action we have not seen meaningful change. Earlier this month we communicated to Facebook that we were unhappy with their stance on hate speech. We have now cut our spending on Facebook and their platforms, including Instagram, by a third for the remainder of the year. We are hopeful that Facebook will take action and make it a safe space for our consumers to communicate and gather. As a company, we stand for the values of togetherness and inclusion and we are resolute in our commitment to make a difference and be part of positive change.”
During a live stream on Facebook, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “he intends to discuss new policies to connect people with authoritative information about voting, the crackdown on voter suppression, and fight hate speech.”
He, however, didn’t directly address the advertiser’s boycott.
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