AHF Ups Threat to #Faceboycott as Zuckerberg Strikes Out on Hate Speech

Last week, the world’s largest AIDS organization gave July 4^th deadline to Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to act on hate speech or AHF will join chorus of major companies in ad boycott

Company acted—but boycott founder Color of Change and many large companies boycotting Facebook say Zuckerberg’s efforts fall far, far short. With 1.4 million people living with HIV in care in 45 countries, AHF spends $2M annually on social media advertising, the bulk on Facebook

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) the largest global AIDS organization, today renewed its call on Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to act swiftly to prevent hate speech from its social media platform postings and ads or AHF will pull its advertising dollars—nearly $2 million annually—from the world’s largest social media platform and join the growing ad boycott. AHF has even created a #Faceboycott graphic that is likely to prompt a far swifter and more comprehensive reaction from the company than what it has mustered to reduce and dismantle hate speech on its sites.

AHF first made the call on Facebook to clamp down on hate speech late last week, giving a July 4^th deadline for the company and CEO to act. Last Friday, in response to the growing number of companies joining the boycott, Facebook took some initial steps—adding, according to the New York Times, “… labels to some posts, including Trump’s.” However, Color of Change, a leader of the boycott, and many of the Fortune 500 companies already participating in the boycott said that Facebook has simply not gone far enough instituting guardrails and controls to eliminate hate speech.

So far, companies including Verizon (estimated FB ad spend: $22.9 million, according to the NYT), Patagonia ($6.2M), REI ($22.5M), Eddie Bauer ($1.4M), The North Face ($3.3M), Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Magnolia Pictures and others have joined a growing chorus of companies demanding action by Facebook to act to prevent “… racist, violent and verifiably false content to run rampant on its platform” as part of the rapidly expanding #StopHateForProfit campaign.

According to CNBC, the boycott effort is spearheaded by the groups, the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Sleeping Giants, Color of Change, Free Press and Common Sense – which are asking “… large Facebook advertisers to show they will not support a company that puts profit over safety.”

“We renew our July 4^th deadline to Facebook to take more meaningful action on hate speech,” said Michael Weinstein, AHF president. “It is fitting that the birthday of our country could also be a day that Facebook and Mr. Zuckerberg really step up to eliminate racist, violent hate speech from its sites.”

With over 1.4 million lives in care, AHF operates free treatment clinics and HIV testing and prevention programs in 45 countries. AHF spends about $2 million dollars annually on social media advertising—the bulk on Facebook—which may seem a modest amount compared with Fortune 500 companies and other global brands; however, AHF is likely among Facebook’s largest nonprofit advertisers.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.4 million individuals in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter @aidshealthcare.