Skip to main content

Starbucks takes stand against hate speech, pauses all social media advertising

 

Starbucks is joining the growing list of companies that have pulled out advertising dollars from social media, in a stand against the hate speech that has become prevalent on the online platforms.

Recommended Videos

“We believe more must be done to create welcoming and inclusive online communities, and we believe both business leaders and policymakers need to come together to affect real change,” Starbucks said in a statement.

“We will pause advertising on all social media platforms while we continue discussions internally, with our media partners, and with civil rights organizations in the effort to stop the spread of hate speech,” the company added.

The social media advertising pause, however, will not include YouTube, a spokesperson for Starbucks told The Verge. The coffee chain will also continue posting on social media channels, but it will not launch paid promotions.

Starbucks’ move follows a similar one by Coca-Cola, which said that it will be pulling out of social media advertising completely for 30 days.

“There is no place for racism in the world and there is no place for racism on social media,” Coca Cola CEO and Chairman James Quincey said in a statement to CNBC.

Facebook advertising boycott

The largest advertising boycott against Facebook, named the Stop Hate for Profit campaign, was launched due to how the social network handled the post of President Donald Trump on the Minneapolis protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd, which was blocked and labeled on Twitter for “glorifying violence.” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg then revealed changes to several content moderation policies, including banning hate speech in ads.

Unilever and Verizon are among the major brands that have withdrawn advertising on Facebook. Similarly to Coca-Cola, Starbucks’ decision is not part of the Stop Hate for Profit campaign, a spokesperson told Digital Trends.

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…
Bluesky finally adds a feature many had been waiting for
A blue sky with clouds.

Bluesky has been making a lot of progress in recent months by simplifying the process to sign up while at the same time rolling out a steady stream of new features.

As part of those continuing efforts, the social media app has just announced that users can now send direct messages (DMs).

Read more
Reddit just achieved something for the first time in its 20-year history
The Reddit logo.

Reddit’s on a roll. The social media platform has just turned a profit for the first time in its 20-year history, and now boasts a record 97.2 million daily active users, marking a year-over-year increase of 47%. A few times during the quarter, the figure topped 100 million, which Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman said in a letter to shareholders had been a “long-standing milestone” for the site.

The company, which went public in March, announced the news in its third-quarter earnings results on Tuesday.

Read more
Worried about the TikTok ban? This is how it might look on your phone
TikTok splash screen on an Android phone.

The US Supreme Court has decided to uphold a law that would see TikTok banned in the country on January 19. Now, the platform has issued an official statement, confirming that it will indeed shut down unless it gets some emergency relief from the outgoing president.

“Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” said the company soon after the court’s verdict.
So, what does going dark mean?
So, far, there is no official statement on what exactly TikTok means by “going dark.” There is a lot of speculation out there on how exactly the app or website will look once TikTok shutters in the US.

Read more