Facebook Folds: Will Now Police Speech After Advertiser Exodus
Facebook Folds: Will Now Police Speech After
Advertiser Exodus
by Tyler Durden Tue,
07/07/2020 - 11:55
After holding itself out as a bastion of (semi)
free speech, or at least the most hands-off in Silicon Valley, Facebook
reversed course on Tuesday amid an advertiser exodus thanks to the Stop
Hate for Profit campaign.
In addition to policing whatever their
definition of 'hate speech' from now on and vowing to 'get better at removing
hateful content,' CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg will be meeting
with leaders from groups including the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation
league, which organized Stop Hate for Profit.
Launched by civil rights groups three weeks ago, the Stop Hate for Profit campaign,
which has a broader aim of curbing hate speech, white supremacy and
misinformation on Facebook, has struck a national nerve. Hundreds of
companies including top brands Unilever, Ford and Pfizer have pulled
advertising from Facebook in July. -USA
Today
"Being a platform where everyone can make
their voice heard is core to our mission, but that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable
for people to spread hate. It’s not," Sandberg wrote in a Tuesday blog
post, adding that on Wednesday Facebook would release its long-anticipated
civil rights audit which began two years ago.
Sandberg said that while the audit had a
"profound effect" on the company's culture, they won't be
"making every change they call for," but will "put more of their
proposals into practice soon."
Facebook has been pressured in recent weeks to
better find and remove posts that include hate speech or lead to voter
suppression. The Menlo Park, California-based company has responded to angry
advertisers with emails and phone calls to better explain its policies and how
it has used software systems to act more swiftly. -Bloomberg
Sandberg claims that the changes are "not
for financial reasons or advertiser pressure, but because it is the right thing
to do," adding "We are never going to be perfect, but we care about
this deeply. We will continue to listen and learn and work in the weeks, months
and years ahead."
According to USA Today, Stop Hate for
Profit is also demanding that Facebook hire a 'civil rights executive,'
submit to independent audits of hate speech and misinformation, remove all
hate speech and hate groups, and provide refunds to advertisers whose ads
appear next to hate speech.
"Now is not the time for simply statements
of support that don’t come with actual real structural change," said Color
of Change president Rashad Robinson. "Now is the time to actually change
rules and change behaviors."
Shares of Facebook dipped and quickly recovered
on the news:
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