Facebook is trying to save the furniture. The company faces a withdrawal from several advertisers who have decided to stop buying advertising space on the company’s social networks – at least for a limited period. Starbucks, Unilever and Coca-Cola have come together under the #StopHateForProfit banner to raise awareness of Facebook’s unclear policy on the subject of online hate.
For several weeks, Facebook has been accused in particular of never having tried to contextualize the words of Donald Trump. Twitter had previously done so, angering the American president, but also the satisfaction of his opponents. They welcomed for example the additional information provided on the subject of remote voting or the impossibility of retweeting certain declarations of the billionaire.
Limited consequences for now
Faced with boycotts of the platform by major advertisers – even if they currently only represent 6% of its turnover, according to CNN calculations – Mark Zuckerberg cannot afford to let this initiative grow. So he ended up reacting this June 26 in the form of a long text published on his Facebook account.
It thus attempts to place the debate in the broader context of the presidential election to come in November 2020. Mark Zuckerberg undertakes for example to make sure to provide reliable information on the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the election. He feared, for example, that false information would be disseminated to dissuade voters from going to polling stations.
The boss of the Menlo Park group also promises that the content of advertisements will now be better controlled to prevent certain advertisers wanting to influence the campaign from using this means to disseminate hateful political thoughts.
A reversal of position
Finally, Mark Zuckerberg aligns with his Twitter counterpart, Jack Dorsey. He now undertakes to label certain content, even if it comes from political figures, if he determines that it can “lead to violence or deprive people of their right to vote”.
The Facebook boss is ready to make no exceptions, even if it means suppressing their publication, whether or not it is a matter of a political figure. A total reversal for the one who said on Fox News not to be “The arbiter of truth” only a few weeks ago.
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