Jun 28, 2020 - Economy

Starbucks halts advertising across social media platforms

Jacob Knutson

Starbuck signs in The Hague, Netherlands. Photo: Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images

Starbucks announced Sunday it will pause all advertisements on social media platforms in a "stand against hate speech," CNBC reports.

Why it matters: Starbucks is following in the footsteps of other companies, such as Unilever and Coca-Cola, who have pulled paid advertisements from platforms like Facebook because of content moderation policies and the spread of hate speech.

A spokesperson for Starbucks said this social media pause will not include YouTube, which is owned by Google. The company will also continue to post on social media without paid promotion.

What they're saying: “We believe in bringing communities together, both in person and online, and we stand against hate speech,” the company said in a statement Sunday, according to CNBC.

“We believe more must be done to create welcoming and inclusive online communities, and we believe both business leaders and policy makers need to come together to affect real change.”

The big picture: Massive advertisers have pulled ads from Facebook amid backlash over how the platform polices political misinformation and how it handles inflammatory or misleading content posted by President Trump.

Verizon, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Hershey and a number of outdoor retail brands joined the boycott last week, ramping up pressure on the social media network ahead of the 2020 election.
Though it is pausing advertising, Starbucks said it is not specifically joining the campaign against Facebook.

Go deeper: The bottom-up revolution hits Facebook

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Starbucks halts advertising across social media platforms

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