Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the social media platform will alter its policies to ban "hate speech" after a number of activists pressured major corporations to pull ads from the tech giant.
“I am committed to making sure Facebook remains a place where people can use their voice to discuss important issues,”Zuckerberg said on Friday. “But I also stand against hate or anything that incites violences or suppresses voting, and we’re committed to removing that content too, no matter where it comes from.”
NEW: Facebook will ban ads that scapegoat minorities, immigrants, racial or other groups as part of a wider crackdown on hate speech, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) June 26, 2020
Many Democratic talking heads on social media have taken this to mean that all political ads from the Trump campaign and some Republicans will be banned.
Political activists who previously accused Tucker Carlson of "racism," have Zuckerberg in their sights following his suggestion that he had no plans to censor political speech or advertising, unlike Twitter and YouTube.
The boycott, organized by Sleeping Giants, and branded as #StopHateForProfit, has caused nearly 100 brands to pull advertising from Facebook or promising to do so.
CONFIRMED: BIG! @Honda has joined the #StopHateForProfit campaign and will pause their advertising on Facebook platforms. https://t.co/KluSrYko2A
— Sleeping Giants (@slpng_giants) June 26, 2020
Although Zuckerberg did not directly address the boycott, it is clear that the recent update to the policies outlined by Facebook is motivated by the backlash the platform has received.
Silicon Valley's social media platforms have come under heavy scrutiny since the 2016 election, with the US political establishment, mainstream media, and progressive activists pinning them for Trump being able to circumvent the usual gatekeepers of information.
Twitter has spearheaded the effort, with YouTube following suit. Even Snapchat has removed the president's promotional tabs on that pretext that it "incited racial violence and promoted injustice."
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