#StopHateforProfit Campaign Organizers Call Zuckerberg “a Disappointment”

In response to Facebook’s policies, a small group of activists launched the #StopHateforProfit campaign.

Organizers of the #StopHateforProfit campaign call Mark Zuckerberg meeting “a disappointment”.

This Tuesday, leaders of the Facebook ad boycott sat down with Facebook executives to discuss the next steps. 

• Facebook advertising boycott leaders call Zuckerberg “a disappointment”
• Leaders of the Facebook ad boycott sat down with Facebook executives to discuss the next steps
• The boycott initially began in response to a post by President Trump
• As a result, within two weeks, hundreds of major brands joined the Facebook ad boycott
• Visit Lifestyle UG homepage for more stories

Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg and Chief Product Officer Chris Cox were in the meeting with the organizers of the #StopHateforProfit campaign. But all four organizers agree that the meeting was a disappointment.

Facebook is taking the ad boycott momentum

In response to Facebook’s policies, a small group of activists launched the #StopHateforProfit campaign and Organizers included; The Color of Change, Anti-Defamation League, NAACP and Free Press.

The boycott initially began in response to a post by President Trump. The post in question indicates that the president may use force against peaceful protesters. But Facebook chose not to remove this post because it said it was for the public’s liking.

Whether this is true or not, this post violates Facebook’s hate speech policy. The activist coalition then called on advertisers to boycott the platform, which accounts for about 98% of its revenue.

As a result, within two weeks, hundreds of major brands joined the Facebook ad boycott. In protest organizations include:

1. Adidas
2. Blue Shield California
3. Coca-Cola
4. Lego
5. Levi Strauss
6. Microsoft
7. Patagonia
8. Pfizer
9. Sony Game
10. Verizon

Following the boycott avalanche, Tuesday’s meeting will mark how Facebook will handle hate speech in the future. But campaign leaders now claim that Facebook executives have done little to address these concerns.

A curious answer

The four campaign organizers all spoke of the frustrating nature of the hourly meeting.

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said: “Today we have seen a little and have nothing to say. Facebook has shown no urgency in addressing hate speech and misinformation.

“We had 10 requests,” Greenblatt said. 

“Actually, we went to 10, but there were no commitments or deadlines or clear outcomes.” He denounced Zuckerberg’s sluggish response to the situation. Facebook’s founder had previously said he expects the group’s “sophistication”. “There is no nuance in white nationalism,” Greenblatt said.

The Color of Change leader, Rashad Robinson, echoed Greenblatt’s response. He commented that executives “expect an A to attend.” But Facebook has ignored any meaningful action.

“It’s like going to a doctor, getting new prescriptions about your diet, doing nothing about it and wondering why you’re not healthy,” Robinson said.

Finally, NAACP President Derrick Johnson summed up the meeting as: “We saw the conversation not blossom.”

An unsuccessful attempt at playback

Two weeks before the meeting, Facebook made minor changes to its policies and sought to ensure disappointments. The company banned its censorship policy in hate speech, but not in posts. 

The company said it was news, but also branded things like false records. But the boycotters make these actions subject to PR decisions. In their view, these small steps fall short of their most urgent demands.