PlayStation suspended its advertising on Facebook as part of a boycott due to hate speech on the platform. While companies such asEA have taken steps to tackle racist languagein their games and platforms, many users and advertisers have been frustrated with Facebook’s inaction in doing the same.
In a statement,PlayStationconfirmed that it has joined the #StopHateForProfit campaign, which aims to send Facebook a message that its “profits will never be worth promoting hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism and violence.” The campaign’s organizers, which include the NAACP, the Anti-Defamation League, and several other non-profits, say that Facebook has allowed offensive posts to remain on its platform. #StopHateForProfit asks for advertisers not to run ad campaigns on Facebook during the month of July.
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PlayStation said that “in support of the #StopHateForProfit campaign, we have globally suspended our Facebook and Instagram activity, including advertising and non-paid content, until the end of July. We stand for working (and playing) together for good.” Last month,Sony delayed the PS5 reveal event in support of Black Lives Matterand the global protests against racial injustice and so few will be surprised that the company has joined this movement.
Gamers may be more surprised to learn that Microsoft is among the list of 530 companies that are suspending advertising on Facebook, as Microsoft is working closely with Facebook as it isclosing down Mixer and helping streamers move over to Facebook Gaming. It’s unclear how much Microsoft typically spends a month on Facebook advertising, but the number of new Facebook Gaming viewers spending money on supporting their favorite streamers may well make up that ad revenue loss for Facebook.
Another gaming company that has joined the campaign isHP, which makes gaming hardware and accessories. Brands like Coca-Cola, Verizon, Unilever, Honda, Mozilla, and Patreon have also confirmed that they will not be advertising on Facebook during July.
Some are comparing this to the YouTube adpocalypse in 2017 and 2019, whenadvertisers also pulled their ads from YouTubeover concerns that they were being shown next to offensive content. YouTube did change its policies following this. However, it’s unclear if Facebook will also change the way that it does things.
