For six months, companies have tried to put Facebook under pressure with an advertising boycott. The social network should do more against hate comments and misinformation. Now Unilever has announced that it will again advertise on Facebook.
The British consumer goods group includes numerous large and well-known brands, such as Knorr, Pfanni, Langnese, Coral, Domestos, Ax, dusch das, Rexona and others. They are all visible again on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, as Unilever believes that the platforms have committed to specific steps to get the problems under control. Together they have developed standards as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM).
The commercial break, it says at Unilever in a blog post, had been announced for half a year and is now ending as planned. From January onwards, the ads would start again in the USA. There had been no actual break in Europe. However, keep an eye on the platforms. Luis Di Como, EVP Global Media at Unilever writes: “We believe in the concessions of the platforms to create a healthier environment for customers, brands and society, in line with the principles of GARM.”
Always new guidelines
More than 90 companies, including Coca Cola, SAP and VW, had joined the advertising boycott. The beverage manufacturer’s advertising budget alone is said to have amounted to around 22 million US dollars in 2019. According to industry analyzes, Unilever came to $ 42 million per year. Facebook generates almost all of its sales from advertising revenue.
Mark Zuckerberg gave in shortly after the call for a boycott and declared that he wanted to take action against hate speech and false information. The guidelines of the social network are constantly updated and are now also adapted for individual cases and statements. The extent to which these are adhered to is of course another matter. The so-called Oversight Board has now started its work. The committee should check to what extent Facebook has lawfully deleted individual posts.
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(emw)
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