Facebook is trying to save what needs to be saved. After more than a hundred global companies announced the cessation of social network advertising, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zakerberg has announced that the social network has decided to step up the fight against hate speech.
The last week on Facebook has not been easy. One after another, a number of world-famous brands, including Honda, Hershey and Janisport, announced the withdrawal of ads from the social network. On Friday, they were joined by consumer goods giant Unilever and also Coca-Cola.
In total, more than a hundred well-known brands have already announced the suspension of advertising, in other words, the boycott of Facebook. The rationale for this is united by allegations that the social networking giant has not sufficiently combated hate speech and incitement to violence.
Facebook founder Mark Zakerberg responded by announcing that the social network would take more active steps in the future to curb hate speech, as well as fight against the restriction of voter rights.
“There are no notable exceptions if they call for violence or restrict the right to vote. Even if a politician or government official says so. If we find that content can lead to violence or prevent people from voting, we will delete that content, no matter who says it, ”Zakerberg said.
Facebook has long been criticized for failing to curb hate speech and false news, especially in the context of U.S. politics. The social network and Zakerberg were accused of being too reverent for President Donald Trump’s statements, while, for example, Twitter added a hint of truth to certain Trump’s posts, and Facebook ignored the same Trump’s posts. Criticism of this was received not only from the outside, but also from within the company, no one hid their dissatisfaction. Now the situation is changing.
“The next thing we do, we’ll start labeling content that we consider notable and that violates our rules,” says Zakerberg.
Facebook has revenues of about $ 70 billion a year. 98% of them are from advertisements. Announcements by large, global companies about the withdrawal of advertisements have also affected the company’s value on the stock exchange – Facebook shares fell by 7%. It is not yet known whether the new Facebook regime will change the attitude of advertisers. On the other hand, it is predicted that the labeling of Trump’s records could certainly lead to an even greater clash between the president and social networks. When Twitter began marking his posts as untrue a month ago, Trump issued an order against the legal immunity of social media giants.
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