The Facebook CEO reportedly told employees he expects advertisers to return "soon enough
Zuckerberg Change Facebook Policies
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly reluctant to change the social network's policies amid a growing ad boycott. During a video town hall meeting last Friday, Zuckerberg told employees that he expects "all these advertisers will be back on the platform soon enough," according to a transcript obtained by The Information.
A month ago, a gathering of social liberties associations including the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, and Color of Change approached organizations to "hit stop on abhor" and not promote on Facebook for the long stretch of July. The groups are pushing Facebook to do more to combat hate speech on the platform.
The campaign has picked up speed with major brands including Unilever, Verizon, Sony, Target, Ford, and Microsoft joining the boycott. As of July 1, more than 500 businesses and organizations had reportedly said they were pausing advertising on Facebook.
Facebook executives have reportedly been meeting with advertisers, and Zuckerberg is planning to talk to organizers of the boycott, according to Reuters.
However, Zuckerberg told employees last Friday that the boycott is more of a reputation and partner issue than an economic one. "We're going to change our arrangements or approach on anything in view of a danger to a little percent of our income, or any percent of our income," Zuckerberg said.
Facebook says it takes matters related to hate speech seriously and respects feedback from partners.
"We're making real progress keeping hate speech off our platform, and we don't benefit from this kind of content," said a Facebook spokesperson on Thursday.
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