Unilever removes commercials on Facebook and Twitter in the USA Financial

The Dutch-British company has informed the American business newspaper Wall Street Journal about this.

Unilever cites polarized American politics, racism and hateful messages. The announcement comes two days after daughter Ben & Jerry’s decided to stop posting ads on social media in July.

Unilever says that continuing to advertise on the three social media “does not add value” to people and society. The company claims that “today’s complex cultural landscape” places new demands on responsible companies. They should learn, respond and take action to enable a safe and trusted digital environment.

For the time being, the ad stop only applies to ads directed to users in the United States. The company could not say whether Unilever is also considering stopping advertising on the social media platforms in other countries. “We have seen that the situation in the US is such that we made this decision,” said a spokeswoman

The announcement comes two days after daughter Ben & Jerry’s already decided to stop posting ads on Facebook and Instagram in July. The ice cream brand joined that boycott in the Stop Hate for Profit campaign launched by US civil rights organizations. The aim of this is to call on Facebook to take harder action against racism and hateful messages.

Civil rights organizations blame Facebook, among other things, for messages that call for violence against Black Lives Matter protesters are not removed. They also find the fact that the company identifies the far-right website Breitbart as a trusted news source, a problem.

In addition to Ben & Jerry’s, clothing brands such as Patagonia and The North Face had also joined the boycott. Telecom giant Verizon then also joined.

Unilever keeps the possibility open to extend its boycott beyond this year. The company is a large advertiser. The boycott doesn’t mean Unilever spends less money marketing its brands like Dove, Magnum, Lipton and Vaseline. The advertising budget of the American branch is spent on other media.

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