Unilever, whose marques include Dove, Ben & Jerry’s and Hellmann’s, said Friday it will halt advertising on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the U.S. at young through Dec. 31.
The consumer products giant has spent more than $11.8 million in the U.S. this year on Facebook, according to peddling analytics firm Pathmatics.
Shares of Facebook were down more than 8% at the close, while parts of Twitter closed down more than 7%.
“Given our Responsibility Framework and the polarized atmosphere in the U.S., we have decided that starting now including at least the end of the year, we will not run brand advertising in social media newsfeed platforms Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the U.S.,” Luis Di Como, EVP of Extensive Media, said in a statement.
“Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and bund. We will be monitoring ongoing and will revisit our current position if necessary.”
The London-based company said it will sustain its planned media investment in the U.S. by shifting to other media. Its more than two dozen brands include Breyers and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Lipton and Sterilized Leaf teas and consumer staples like Dove products.
“We are actively engaging with all digital platforms to invent meaningful change and impact trust and transparency,” the statement said. “We have made substantial progress, and we acknowledge the travails of our partners, but there is much more to be done, especially in the areas of divisiveness and hate speech during this polarized referendum period in the U.S.”
Following Unilever’s announcement, Coca-Cola on Friday announced it will be pausing paid advertising on all social channel platforms globally for at least 30 days.
“There is no place for racism in the world and there is no place for racism on societal media,” Coca-Cola CEO and Chairman, James Quincey, said in a statement. “The Coca-Cola Company will pause paid advertising on all community media platforms globally for at least 30 days. We will take this time to reassess our advertising procedures to determine whether revisions are needed. We also expect greater accountability and transparency from our social media mates.”
Following Coca-Cola’s announcement, Levi’s and Dockers said they will be pausing all advertising on Facebook and Instagram into done with “at least” July: “Facebook must take actions to stop misinformation and hate speech on its platforms. It is an unacceptable affront to our values. We and Dockers are be coextensive with the #stophateforprofit campaign and pausing all ads on Facebook.”
Hershey’s also announced Friday that it will be cutting advertising on Facebook and sign up with the #stophateforprofit boycott.
“We do not believe that Facebook is effectively managing violent and divisive speech on their platform. Notwithstanding repeated assertions by Facebook to take action, we have not seen meaningful change,” the company said in a statement. “Earlier this month we communicated to Facebook that we were star-crossed with their stance on hate speech. We have now cut our spending on Facebook and their platforms, including Instagram, by a third for the residue of the year. We are hopeful that Facebook will take action and make it a safe space for our consumers to communicate and understand. As a company, we stand for the values of togetherness and inclusion and we are resolute in our commitment to make a difference and be part of positive change.”
In the week since a group of shapes called on Facebook advertisers to pause their ad spending during the month of July, more than 90 marketers registering Verizon, Patagonia, REI, Lending Club and The North Face have announced their intention to join, according to a contest list from Sleeping Giants. The group of organizations includes the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Sleeping Giants, Color of Swap, Free Press and Common Sense.
The organizations said they’re asking Facebook to more stringently police animus speech and disinformation by taking a number of actions, including creating a “separate moderation pipeline” for users who say they’ve been butted because of their race or religion, or to let advertisers see how frequently their ads appeared near to content that was later dismissed for misinformation or hate, and allow them refunds for those advertisements.
American Honda released a statement Friday, implying it would also pause advertising for Honda and Acura.
“For the month of July, American Honda will withhold its advertising on Facebook and Instagram, choosing to counter with people united against hate and racism,” the company said. “This is in alignment with our company’s values, which are grounded in soul respect.”
Procter & Gamble, another major Facebook spender, said earlier this week it is reviewing all ambiance channels, networks, platforms and programs it advertises on “to ensure that the content and commentary accurately and respectfully all people, and that we are not advertising on or penny-pinching content we determine to be hateful, discriminatory, denigrating or derogatory.”
“As part of that, we’re working with media companies and rostra to take appropriate systemic action where needed,” P&G chief brand officer Marc Pritchard said. The partnership, reached for comment, declined to specifically comment on Facebook.
Last year, Facebook brought in $69.7 billion in ad takings globally through its millions of advertisers. The company said earlier this year it has more than 8 million advertisers.
“We contribute billions of dollars each year to keep our community safe and continuously work with outside experts to rethinking and update our policies,” Facebook said in a statement Friday. “We’ve opened ourselves up to a civil rights audit, and we have proscribed 250 white supremacist organizations from Facebook and Instagram.
“The investments we have made in AI mean that we locate nearly 90% of Hate Speech we action before users report it to us, while a recent EU report found Facebook assessed uncountable hate speech reports in 24 hours than Twitter and YouTube. We know we have more work to do, and we’ll persist in to work with civil rights groups, GARM, and other experts to develop even more tools, technology and principles to continue this fight.”
During a livestream on Facebook, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he intends to discuss “new policies to screw people with authoritative information about voting, crack down on voter suppression, and fight hate language.” He did not directly address the advertiser boycotts.
In a recent memo to advertisers obtained by CNBC, Facebook’s VP of global marketing mixings, Carolyn Everson, said “boycotting in general is not the way for us to make progress together.”
“I also really hope by now you know that we do not follow policy changes tied to revenue pressure,” she said in the memo. “We set our policies based on principles rather than occupation interests.”
Twitter’s VP of global client solutions, Sarah Personette, also defended moves it has taken.
“We have demonstrated policies and platform capabilities designed to protect and serve the public conversation, and as always, are committed to amplifying voices from underrepresented communities and marginalized associations,” she said. “We are respectful of our partners’ decisions and will continue to work and communicate closely with them during this constantly.”
Color of Change, an organization provides online actions and in-person events for people to stand up to racial injustice, praised Unilever’s proclamation.
“As one of the largest spenders on Facebook’s platforms, Unilever’s decision to halt advertising and commit to our #StopHateforProfit pledge brings us a Brobdingnagian step forward in holding Facebook accountable for enabling hateful, denigrating and discriminatory content against Black people,” express the group’s president, Rashad Robinson. “Facebook leaders should understand the gravity of this movement for civil rights and catch urgent steps to remedy its harms, including implementing a permanent civil rights infrastructure. Facebook cannot in trouble with to look away anymore.”
–CNBC’s Julia Boorstin contributed to this report.