Skip to main content

Verizon joins the Facebook ad boycott after one of its ads is displayed next to an anti-Semitic conspiracy video

* Verizon has pulled its advertising from Facebook, joining a growing list of companies boycotting the social-media firm over its content moderation. * A group of six nonprofit organizations started the boycott last week, calling on companies to withdraw their advertising over the spread of hate speech and misinformation on Facebook. * On Thursday, June 25, the Anti-Defamation League said it found a Verizon ad next to anti-Semitic video. * Verizon's chief media officer said the company was suspending advertising on the social network and on Instagram, which Facebook owns, "until Facebook can create an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable and is consistent with what we've done with YouTube and other partners." * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Verizon has joined the growing list of companies boycotting Facebook by not placing ads on the platform, CNBC reported on Thursday, June 25. The wider boycott started on June 17, when a group of six nonprofits including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the NAACP published an open letter calling on advertisers to stop their business with Facebook, saying the platform is a hotbed for hateful content and misinformation. Major brands including The North Face, Patagonia, and Ben & Jerry's joined the boycott, and on June 25 the ADL sent another open letter calling on companies to pull their ads, in which it specifically named Verizon.  "We found an advertisement for Verizon appearing next to a video from the conspiracy group QAnon drawing on hateful and antisemitic rhetoric, warning that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is planning to bring on civil war with concentration camps and coffins at the ready and claiming Americans are already quarantined in militarized districts," the letter read. In response, Verizon's John Nitti told CNBC that the company was suspending its advertising with Facebook. "We're pausing our advertising until Facebook can create an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable and is consistent with what we've done with YouTube and other partners," he said. In a statement to Business Insider following Verizon's suspension, Carolyn Everson, vice-president of Facebook's global business group, said: "We respect any brand's decision, and remain focused on the important work of removing hate speech and providing critical voting information. Our conversations with marketers and civil rights organizations are about how, together, we can be a force for good." Color of Change, one of the signatories on the original June 17 letter, said in a statement that Verizon's decision was a "huge step." "Facebook's leadership can withstand regulatory, legal, and media scrutiny because of the billions of dollars the company receives in advertising. Major corporations that have publicly shared their sympathies for the struggles Black Americans face can and should go one step further by taking our pledge to halt the funding of racism and hate," Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, said. Verizon's announcement is a major blow to Facebook, which has been scrambling to placate advertisers while simultaneously signalling it won't bow to the boycott. "We do not make policy changes tied to revenue pressure," Everson said in an email to advertisers sent over the weekend of June 20 and 21, seen by the Wall Street Journal.  Before the June 17 letter, the platform was trying to justify its moderation policies to advertisers, with Mark Zuckerberg personally addressing a client meeting of top advertising execs on June 11. Marketing analytics firm Pathmatics told CNBC the social-networking giant spent an estimated $1.8 million on Facebook and Instagram ads between May 22 and June 20. The company came under pressure from civil rights groups after it decided to take no action on two posts from US President Donald Trump in late May — one that falsely claimed mail-in voting in California would be "substantially fraudulent," and another about the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis, in which the president said "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."  Twitter applied cards fact-checking and blocking the posts, but Facebook decided to leave them untouched, a move that provoked intense backlash from both civil rights groups and Facebook's own employees. SEE ALSO: Facebook says its business could afford to get rid of news Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Why Pikes Peak is the most dangerous racetrack in America
https://bit.ly/3g1LZgA

Popular posts from this blog

'Is Twitch on Roku?': No, not anymore — here's how to watch Twitch on your TV without using Roku

* There's no official Twitch app for Roku devices anymore, although there used to be one. * If you still have the old Twitch app installed, there's a chance it'll still work, but it's unlikely. * If you'd like to watch Twitch on your TV, you're better off using another device like an Amazon Fire TV Stick or Chromecast. * Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories. Twitch's acquisition by Amazon opened the door to some cool features, like Twitch Prime. However, the acquisition also means that now there's no way to watch Twitch on a Roku device — after all, Roku is one of Amazon's competitors. Twitch used to offer a fully featured app for Roku devices. If you try to download that app now, however, you'll be shown a message saying that the app has been shut down.  If you already had the app downloaded when it was shut down, it's likely that you can't use it anymore. And even if you can, there's going t...

How to send your location on Snapchat to your friends through the app's Snap Map feature

* You can send your location on Snapchat to a single friend or to several users in a group.   * To send a location on Snapchat, you'll need to visit your friendship history with a user and locate the "Send My Location" feature.  * Once you send a location on Snapchat to a friend, they can tap it and zoom in to see where you are.  * Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories. Whether you want to share the location of your favorite restaurant or the address of your new apartment, you can easily send your location on Snapchat to your friends.  You can do this using the Snap Map and will even be prompted to select who you want to share you location with the first time you use the app feature. You can choose to share your location with your mutual friends, a list of friends with exceptions, or a small group of selected friends.  To send your location directly to a mutual Snapchat friend, you must visit your chat history through your friends li...

Apple has backed down in its latest developer fight, apologizing to WordPress after it pressured the website-builder to add in-app payments

* Apple has apologized after it tried to force WordPress to add in-app payment options to a free app. * WordPress' founder said on Friday that Apple was refusing to allow any updates to the WordPress iOS app until the website builder added in-app purchases, from which Apple takes a 15-30% commission. * Apple is in a fierce fight with developers including "Fortnite" maker Epic Games and Spotify over its rules on in-app purchases. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Apple has backed down in its latest skirmish with a developer over its App Store rules. The tech giant on Sunday issued a rare apology to WordPress after it pressured the website builder to add payment options to its free iOS app, or else be blocked from updating. "We believe the issue with the WordPress app has been resolved," an Apple spokesman told The Verge. "Since the developer removed the display of their service payment options from the app, it is now a free st...