Companies boycotting Facebook are virtue signalling – but the implications are serious
https://tech.newstatesman.com/policy/companies-boycotting-facebook-are-virtue-signalling-but-the-implications-are-serious
Anti-racism protests that have torn through America since the police’s murder of George Floyd have put President Trump under the spotlight – his authoritarianism, use of racist dogwhistles and increasingly hysterical threats. But, perhaps unexpectedly, there’s been a growing focus on Twitter and Facebook too.
In the last week of May, the platforms vaulted into the spotlight when both refused to acquiesce to demands to remove two of Trump’s posts that violated their standards. The incident became a touchpoint for snowballing anger about the platform’s haphazard speech regulation policies and has culminated in a campaign called Stop Hate for Profit. Launched by advocacy groups the Anti-Defamation League, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Color Of Change, the campaign calls on businesses to suspend advertising on Facebook for the month of July, ostensibly to put pressure on the company to take more action on hate speech. Companies including Ben & Jerry’s, Patagonia and the North Face have signed up.