When will brands stop supporting hate?

by | Jan 24, 2021 | Thoughts

It seems like only a few weeks ago, that brands were ‘boycotting Facebook’ by pulling their advertising from the platform in response to Facebook’s persistent failure to control abusive and sometimes illegal content.

Oh, it was. And yet, here we are a few weeks later with yet another horrible example of hate speech proliferating across social media in the form of rapper Wiley’s disgusting comments relating to the Jewish community.

Obviously, social media finds itself between a rock and a hard place as they have long stood firm on their position that they are not liable for the content posted on their platforms and yet they control it.

They have a strong argument. Wiley’s views aren’t theirs but their global and rapid reach is entirely enabled by them. If we add the issue of free speech into the mix, you can see why social media is stuck.

However, that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be more effective at spotting and removing illegal content from its sites & apps but the only way they’ll ever take affirmative action, is if the boycott we saw take shape a few weeks ago is fuelled by the marketing industry’s collective consciousness to say ENOUGH.

I personally am astounded that global and local brands alike still push billions of dollars into social media. I certainly wouldn’t want my brand appearing next to such vile content and yet they must be so short of alternatives to reach their intended audience that they have literally no choice.

There’s an opportunity here and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone takes advantage very soon to provide that alternative.

 

 

by | Jan 24, 2021 | Thoughts

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