Coca Cola halts advertising on all social media platforms

Coca Cola company’s Chairman and CEO James Quincey has announced to pause paid advertisements on all social media platforms for at least 30 days. The new decision will be effective globally starting on July 1.

The company has issued a statement on its website which states :

“There is no place for racism in the world and there is no place for racism on social media. 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 our social media partners.”

For 82 years, we have put people over profits. We're pulling all Facebook/Instagram advertising for the month of July. #StopHateForProfit

Learn more: https://t.co/XCQSnUO8XJ https://t.co/Jp1GaKdCUN
— REI (@REI) June 19, 2020

As many as hundred firms including Unilever, Dove, Honda, Hershey Co, the North Face, Verizon and ben & Jerry’s have already boycotted advertising in support of “StopHateForProfit campaign. Coca Cola is the latest to join the list.

https://twitter.com/orenfrank/status/1267504648275005440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1267504648275005440%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fcompanies-no-longer-advertising-on-facebook-after-poor-speech-moderation-2020-6

As a CMO, I am reallocating dollars planned for Facebook advertising to other places. I won’t fund an org that fails to act against divisiveness and hate, hiding behind “freedom of speech.” Fellow marketers, join me. #nomoremoneyforFacebook
— Sara Spivey (@SaraSpivey1) June 3, 2020

The organizers of stop hate for profit believe that Facebook is not doing enough to stop spread of hate speech and disinformation. They also claim the small changes made by Facebook will not do much to resolve the issue of hate and racism.

For the month of July, American Honda is withholding its advertising on Facebook and Instagram. We choose to stand with people united against hate and racism. This is in alignment with our company’s values, which are grounded in human respect. #StopHateForProfit
— HondaInclusion (@HondaInclusion) June 26, 2020

The boycott has pushed the shares of Facebook down by 8.3% on Friday. It has eliminated $56 Billion from the company’s market value and knocked off Zuckerberg’s personal network by $7.2bn. As a result, Zuckerberg is now in fourth place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index instead of third. His new net worth now is $82.3bn

As a result, Zuckerberg has announced new and revised policies on harmful and hate content.

The Stop Hate For Profit campaign was launched in the wake of George Floyd’s death and triggered when Facebook refused to remove the post by President Donald Trump which said; “when the looting starts, the shooting starts”. he also called the protestors ‘thugs”