The reason advertisers are holding Facebook accountable

For the last month, big name brands like Disney, Verizon and Starbucks have paused advertising efforts on Facebook for the #StopHateForProfit ad boycott. More than 1,000 brands made the decision in July to allocate their Facebook ad dollars elsewhere in efforts to hold the company accountable for the spread of hate speech.

In the eyes of its advertisers, Facebook has failed to slow the spread of both hate speech and misinformation, resulting in a $30 million loss in revenue for the social media company. While nearly 75% of advertisers resumed advertising in August, the boycott was meant to hold the platform accountable and encourage authentic action.

Facebook has made efforts to address advertisers demands by labelling posts that may contain false information. While this move improves news literacy among its users, it isn’t enough to bring back some of its highest-paying advertisers.

So where did these 1,000 brands decide to spend advertising dollars in July? According to Pathmatics, nearly a quarter decided to spend on social media platforms other than Facebook while another quarter increased spending on display advertising. While most brands reallocated July’s budget to other platforms, 36% did not plan to pick up any additional advertising.

Would you reallocate advertising spend if you learned an advertising partner did not have the same values as your brand? Where would you choose to advertise instead?