Hershey’s joins Facebook ad boycott for July

FOX Business' Susan Li says the Clorox Company, along with other companies, are pausing advertisements on Facebook in an effort to target the social media platform for reported hate speech.

America’s largest chocolate company is joining the advertising boycott against Facebook.

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Jill Baskin, chief marketing officer at The Hershey’s Company, announced its move in an interview with NPR on Friday. The global chocolate brand will reportedly pause its paid ads for the month of July to take a stand against hate speech on the multibillion-dollar social media company.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
HSY	THE HERSHEY CO.	196.49	-1.43	-0.72%
FB	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.

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“We do not believe that Facebook is effectively managing violent and divisive speech on their platform,” Baskin told the public radio station. “Despite repeated assertions by Facebook to take action, we have not seen meaningful change.”

Additionally, Baskin noted that Hershey’s reached out to Facebook to say it was “unhappy with their stance on hate speech” earlier this month. Future Hershey’s advertising on Facebook’s platforms will be reduced by a third for the remainder of 2020.

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“We are hopeful that Facebook will take action and make it a safe space for our consumers to communicate and gather,” Baskin added while noting that Hershey’s has formally joined the Stop Hate for Profit campaign. “As a company, we stand for the values of togetherness and inclusion and we are resolute in our commitment to make a difference and be part of positive change.”

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FOX Business reached out for further comment but a Hershey’s spokesperson referred to Baskin’s statement instead.

Hershey’s is not the only sweet treat company that has announced a public boycott of Facebook.

Ben & Jerry’s and Coca-Cola have joined the Stop Hate for Profit campaign, which is asking “all businesses to stand in solidarity with our most deeply held American values of freedom, equality and justice and not advertise on Facebook's services in July,” according to the organization’s website.

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Facebook did not immediately respond to FOX Business’s request for comment.