Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and chief executive officer, has had $7 billion wiped off his fortune after Coca-Cola announced halting all social media advertising for 30 days.
This follows #StopHateforProfit campaign launched on June 19 in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers and the subsequent worldwide protests.
It was triggered by Facebook’s refusal to remove a post by President Donald Trump, which threatened the protesters with violence. Trump wrote in his post, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” and also called the demonstrators “thugs”.
“There is no place for racism in the world and there is no place for racism on social media. The Coca-Cola Company will pause paid advertising on all social media platforms globally for at least 30 days.
“We will take this time to reassess our advertising policies to determine whether revisions are needed. We also expect greater accountability and transparency from our social media partners,” James Quincey, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company
Zuckerberg’s net wealth is down by $7.21 billion as of Saturday, while Facebook’s share price dropped more than 8% at the close of Friday trading, as the ad boycott snowballs.
Coca-Cola is the latest brand to back the #StopHateforProfit campaign by American civil rights groups.
Big corporations, including Unilever, Verizon and many others have over the last week, either paused or halted their advertising with Facebook and other social media platforms as a result.
Meanwhile, the pressure appears to be working as late on Friday, Zuckerberg announced the company will now label “newsworthy” posts from politicians that break its rules on hate speech or violent speech.
