Coca-Cola announced on Friday that it would pause paid advertising on all social media platforms worldwide for at least 30 days.
The company made it clear that it would not join the official boycott, but said that "we are pausing" advertising.
The week a group of organizations asked Facebook advertisers to pause their ad spend in July, more than 90 marketers, including Verizon, Patagonia, REI, Lending Club, and The North Face, announced their intention to become a member a running list from Sleeping Giants. The group of organizations includes the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Sleeping Giants, Color of Change, Free Press and Common Sense.
"There is no place for racism in the world and no place for racism on social media," said James Quincey, CEO and Chairman of Coca-Cola, in a statement. "The Coca-Cola Company will pause paid advertising on all social media platforms worldwide for at least 30 days. We will take the time to review our advertising policies to determine whether revisions are required. We also expect more accountability and Transparency from our social media partners. "
The beverage giant has posted quotes on diversity and the end of systemic racism on its Twitter account, including support for NASCAR's only black driver, Bubba Wallace.
Coca-Cola's announcement comes after Unilever, whose brands include Dove, Ben & Jerry & # 39; s, and Hellmann & # 39; s, announced on Friday that it would be advertising on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the U.S. at least until December 31.
Unilever joined brands like Eddie Bauer, The North Face and Patagonia as part of a campaign that forced the social media network to monitor hate speech and disinformation more closely by taking a number of measures, including creating a "separate one." Moderation Pipeline "for users who say so, were targeted for their race or religion, or to show advertisers how often their ads were shown near content that was later removed due to misinformation or hatred, and refunds for these ads.
Following the announcement by Coca-Cola, Levi & # 39; s and Dockers said that they will pause all advertising on Facebook and Instagram until "at least" July: "Facebook needs to take action to stop misinformation and hate speech on its platforms. This is an unacceptable violation of our values We and Docker participate in the #stophateforprofit campaign and pause all ads on Facebook. "
Hershey also announced late Friday that it would cut spending on Facebook and Instagram by a third for the rest of the year and join the #stophateforprofit boycott.
"We do not believe that Facebook effectively manages violent and divisive speeches on its platform. Despite repeated claims by Facebook to take action, we have seen no significant changes," the company said in a statement. "Earlier this month, we told Facebook we were dissatisfied with their hate speech stance. We have now cut spending on Facebook and its platforms, including Instagram, by a third for the rest of the year. We hope Facebook will do so becomes." Take action and make it a safe place for our consumers to communicate and gather. As a company, we stand for the values of togetherness and inclusion and are determined to make a difference and be part of positive change. "
Procter & Gamble, another major Facebook donor, said earlier this week that it is reviewing all the media channels, networks, platforms and programs it advertises, "to ensure that everyone's content and comments are correct and respectful and that we are not on or advertise. " When it comes to content, we find that we are hateful, discriminatory, disparaged or derogatory. "
"As part of this, we're working with media companies and platforms to take appropriate systemic action when needed," said Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer of P&G. The company, which grabbed a comment, declined, especially on Facebook to comment.
During a live stream on Facebook, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he intended to "discuss new guidelines to connect people with relevant voting information, combat voter repression, and fight hate speech." He didn't directly address the boycott of advertisers.
In a recent memo to advertisers from CNBC, Carolyn Everson, vice president of global marketing solutions for Facebook, said: "Boycott in general is not the way for us to make progress together."
"I also hope that you now know that we are not making any policy changes related to the pressure on sales," she said in the memo. "We base our guidelines on principles rather than business interests."
