Coca-Cola and Diageo are among companies that have halted their paid social media advertising globally amid concerns over content moderation.
The decision is a result of a #StopHateForProfit movement regarding the handling of hate speech and misinformation online.
The Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Sleeping Giants, Color of Change, Free Press and Common Sense asked “large Facebook advertisers to show they will not support a company that puts profit over safety.”
Advertisers are asking Facebook to more stringently police hate speech and disinformation by taking actions including creating a “separate moderation pipeline” for users who say they’ve been targeted because of their race or religion, or to let advertisers see how frequently their ads appeared near to content that was later removed for misinformation or hate, and allow them refunds for those advertisements.
Diageo released a statement saying it “strives to promote inclusion and diversity, including through our marketing campaigns”.
“From July 1 we will pause all paid advertising globally on major social media platforms. We will continue to discuss with media partners how they will deal with unacceptable content.”
Diageo also stopped advertising on YouTube in 2017 following revelations that pedophiles were making inappropriate comments on videos uploaded by children to the site.
Coca-Cola is pause all paid social media advertising globally “for at least 30 days”.
James Quincey, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, said: “There is no place for racism in the world and there is no place for racism on social media.
“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.”
