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Investing.com — Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) slumped Friday as another industry giant pulled ads in a boycott of the social media giant driven by the Anti-Defamation League.
Mark Zuckerberg posted a statement in the afternoon saying that Facebook would create a higher standard for hateful content in ads, though “there is a public interest in allowing a wider range of free expressions in people’s posts than in paid ads.”
The company will also label some content and will remove anything that incites violence or suppresses voting, including if posted by a politician or government official. Facebook will also ramp up its Elections Operations Centers in the 72 hours leading up to election day to remove false claims about polling conditions, including any posts regarding false claims that immigration enforcement agents will be checking for immigration papers at polling places.
Unilever (NYSE:UL) is one of the latest big companies to announce it will stop advertising on Facebook, as well as Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), for the rest of the year, citing hate speech and divisive content. Verizon (NYSE:VZ) joined the Facebook boycott on Thursday. Ad Age reported that Verizon spent $850,000 in ads on Facebook in the first three weeks of June.
Facebook and Twitter shares both fell more than 7% to their lowest in more than a month.
The Anti-Defamation League accused Facebook of using $70 billion to allow “incitement to violence against protesters fighting for racial justice in America,” and for allowing for voter suppression.
The North Face and Patagonia are also participating in the “Stop the Hate for Profit” campaign.
