The campaign to convince marketers to ditch Facebook has added one of the world’s largest advertising spenders.
The global consumer packaged goods company Unilever announced Friday that it will halt its advertising on Facebook and Instagram, joining a growing movement to stop spending ad dollars on the social media platforms.
The New Jersey-based conglomerate also said it would pull its advertising from Twitter because of a polarized climate on social media, which is being exacerbated by the November election.
In a post on its website, Unilever referred to its “Responsibility Framework that calls for more responsible platforms, content and infrastructure.”
“Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society,” the company stated. “We will be monitoring ongoing and will revisit our current position if necessary.”
Unilever joins a growing list of advertisers, including the wireless service company Verizon, in pausing its ad spending.
On Friday evening, Atlanta-based Coca-Cola announced it would “pause” its social media advertising globally for the month of July.
“We will take this time to reassess our advertising standards and policies to determine whether revisions are needed internally, and what more we should expect of our social media partners to rid the platforms of hate, violence and inappropriate content,” the company said in a statement.
The moves come as social justice organizations and advertising watchdogs have teamed up to pressure companies with details about how their ads are supporting hate speech.
Later on Friday, Honda’s American operations announced that it would also halt its Facebook spending.
“For the month of July, American Honda will withhold its advertising on Facebook and Instagram, choosing to stand with people united against hate and racism,” said Alyssa Dominguez, a company spokeswoman. “This is in alignment with our company’s values, which are grounded in human respect.”
The Wall Street Journal was first to report the Unilever news.
Unilever is one of the biggest advertisers in the world, spending about $8.2 billion in 2019 on “brand and marketing investment,” according to the company’s annual report. It owns a variety of consumer brands including Lipton tea, Dove beauty products and the Axe line of men’s grooming products.
Unilever spent $42.3 million on Facebook in 2019, according to Pathmatics, an ad data firm, and spent $11.8 million through June 25.
Unilever is one of a number of advertisers who are pushing for new rules for social media companies as part of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media.
Facebook has been the subject of criticism for its decision not to take action on statements from President Donald Trump that warned that looters during protests would be shot. While the platform has in recent years taken numerous steps to crack down on hate speech, civil rights groups remain critical of the social platform’s role in the rise of extremism along with the latitude it gives to the president.
Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone said the company invests billions of dollars a year to keep its platform safe.