Facebook loses almost €53 billion in market value in two days as advertising boycott continues over racist posts
Pre-Advanced FACEBOOK shares plummeted yesterday after losing almost €53 billion ($60 billion) from its market value after a massive two-day stock decline as more advertisers joined the boycott of the social network. Stocks in the world’s largest social media platform rose slightly at 1.2 per cent again Monday afternoon after shaking off a loss earlier in the morning.
Starbucks and Pepsi have joined 160 firms boycotting Facebook over ‘failure to stop hate speech’ after shares plunged by a jaw-dropping €53 billion.
The social media giant is facing a defection of advertisers tired of the racist and violent posts spreading through the social network. A long list of companies has pulled advertising from Facebook Inc in support of a campaign that called out the social media giant for not doing enough to stop hate speech on its platforms.
The Stop Hate for Profit campaign was started by several US civil rights groups after the death of black man George Floyd in police custody triggered widespread protests against racial discrimination in the United States.
Facebook makes an incredible $70 billion annually from ads, the coalition claimed in a statement on the ADL website.
The campaign has criticised Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to not moderate the US president, in particular, after the Facebook CEO defended his decision not to limit Trump’s often controversial, incendiary, and inaccurate posts.
Coronavirus has seen a climb in Facebook’s share prices to the best they’ve been since 2012 come mid-June. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously refused to take action against divisive hate speech due to a fear of censorship.
Twitter, by contrast, slapped a ‘get the facts label’ on them.
Today's Vocabulary
1. plummeted (v)
to fall very quickly and suddenly
2. boycott (v)
to refuse to buy a product or take part in an activity as a way of expressing strong disapproval
3. plunged (v)
to (cause someone or something to) move or fall suddenly and often a long way forward, down, or into something
4. defection (n)
the act of leaving a country, political party, etc. to go to another one
5. platforms (n)
an opportunity to make your ideas or beliefs known publicly
6. coalition (n)
the joining together of different political parties or groups for a particular purpose, usually for a limited time, or a government that is formed in this way
7. incendiary (adj.)
likely to cause violence or strong feelings of anger
8. divisive (adj.)
used to describe something that causes great and sometimes unfriendly disagreement within a group of people
QUESTIONS
- What has the campaign group done to Facebook’s market value?
- When did the Stop Hate for Profit campaign start?
- Do you agree with the campaign?
- How much of Facebook’s value was wiped out?
- How many firms boycotting Facebook over ‘failure to stop hate speech’?
DISCUSSION
- What do you think of advertising?
- What do you think of Facebook?
- Do you agree with the campaign?
- Have you seen misleading posts on social media?
- What problems with social media can you see?
