Verizon joins the boycott of Facebook ads, pulling them until Facebook has “an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable”, the largest advertiser so far

- Verizon said on Thursday it is pulling advertising on Facebook and Instagram. — On Thursday, the Anti-Defamation …

CNBC 2020-06-26 Megan Graham

Context & Ripple Effects

Verizon's exit is the boycott's scale moment: it follows Unilever's halt of US advertising on Facebook and Twitter through the rest of 2020 and lands days after the Anti-Defamation League's campaign put hate-speech policing on advertisers' agenda. As the largest advertiser to pull out so far, Verizon changes the boycott from a coalition of mid-size brands into one that includes Facebook's biggest spenders.

The pressure is not evenly distributed, though — related coverage shows some brands still funneling money into Instagram and the Facebook Audience Network even while boycotting the main feed, and a later tally found [[a:955288|only three of Facebook's top 25 2019 advertisers — Microsoft, Starbucks, and Pfizer — had paused spending]], with Uber and Netflix among those still absent from the list of pausers.

First-order effects

Facebook and Instagram immediately lose their largest announced advertiser, and Verizon's stated condition — an 'acceptable solution' on content moderation — gives other big spenders a template for joining without committing to a return date.

Second-order effects

Because the boycott is leaky — Instagram and Audience Network dollars keep flowing from some participants — Facebook can partially offset feed losses, but the unevenness also hands critics a ready-made argument that the platform is still monetizing the same content elsewhere.
Facebook's negotiation posture shifts: with participants already unimpressed by its policing promises and talks ongoing, each new large-name defector raises the cost of settling for cosmetic policy changes.

Third-order effects

If the pattern holds, brand-safety conditionality becomes a standing feature of large ad contracts on social platforms — advertisers returning only against verifiable moderation milestones — forcing Facebook to treat content governance as a revenue-protection function rather than a policy side-issue.

The trend: Social-platform ad revenue is becoming contingent on moderation outcomes, as the biggest advertisers coordinate exits rather than negotiate alone.

Discussion

@slpng_giants @slpng_giants on x
CONFIRMED: BOOM! @verizon has joined the #StopHateForProfit campaign and will pause their advertising on Facebook platforms until their policies on hate and disinformation change! https://twitter.com/...
@megancgraham Meg Graham on x
Verizon is the latest marketer to say it will pause ads on Facebook and Instagram “until Facebook can create an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable and is consistent with what we've done with YouTube and other partners.” https://www.cnbc.com/...
@passantino Jon Passantino on x
Verizon becomes the biggest company yet to yank ads from Facebook over its handling of misinformation and hate speech https://www.cnbc.com/...
@jgreenblattadl Jonathan Greenblatt on x
Amazing news. Thank you @verizon for joining the fight against hate and bigotry by pausing your advertising on Facebook's platforms. This is how we make real change. By coming together and telling Facebook it's time to #StopHateForProfit. https://stophateforprofit.org/ https://tw…
@slpng_giants @slpng_giants on x
What you're seeing now is the dam breaking. Predicting that dozens of advertisers will follow Verizon's lead and will now decide that Facebook's policies on hate and disinformation do not match up with their brands, pausing their ad dollars. Hard to overstate how big this is. htt…
@genepark Gene Park on x
ok THIS is how you start to delete Facebook https://twitter.com/...
@rashadrobinson Rashad Robinson on x
This is a big step for the #StopHateForProfit campaign, which we launched on June 17 with partners. Verizon spends millions of dollars monthly on Facebook ads - its commitment to halt the funding of racism and hate is a call for other industry leaders to follow suit. https://twit…
@b_fung Brian Fung on x
Verizon's decision today comes after the ADL said one of the company's ads had appeared on Facebook beside a post pushing conspiracy theories: https://www.cnn.com/...
@jgreenblattadl Jonathan Greenblatt on x
A message to companies advertising on Facebook: For years, Facebook has been unwilling to significantly address hate on its platform while making billions off it. They won't put people over profit, but you can. Join us. Tell Facebook to #StopHateForProfit. https://www.adl.org/...
@shachar_baron Shachar Bar-On on x
As @Verizon said in their old ad campaign: “Can you hear me now?” Facebook - time to listen https://twitter.com/...
@sarafischer Sara Fischer on x
Yes, but: - FB current crisis resembles 2018 YouTube ad boycott - After a year, many advertisers that boycotted, including big names like P&G, returned - YouTube still an ad powerhouse, bringing in roughly $15 billion annually Bottom line: This won't kill FB, but PR nightmare htt…
@slpng_giants @slpng_giants on x
@ATT Thank you. Speaking of fundamental change, will you be reconsidering you're advertising spending on Facebook and joining the #StopHateForProfit campaign as a result of their inaction on hate and disinformation on their platforms, as Verizon has? https://twitter.com/... https…
@georgeslefo George P. Slefo on x
Verizon halts advertising on Facebook moments after Anti-Defamation League sends open letter — https://adage.com/...
@garettsloane Garett Sloane on x
ADL claims to have screenshots of ads adjacent to some nasty looking content on Facebook. Screenshots are brand kryptonite in these types of “boycott” fights, and Verizon immediately paused. We've seen this play out before with YouTube boycott https://adage.com/...
@gunnerstaal Ryan Wilson on x
This will be huge if it catches on with other big companies https://twitter.com/...
@adl @adl on x
An open letter to companies advertising on Facebook: The platform is putting profits over people. Your money, in some cases, is placing your ads right next to hateful and extremist content. Join us. Tell Facebook to #StopHateForProfit. https://adage.com/...
@johnbattelle John Battelle on x
I have a lot of thoughts about the FB boycott - in particular having to do with how its millions of SMB advertisers are more than happy to pick up impressions left by larger brands - but what matters far more than money is optics. Those just got WAY worse. https://www.theverge.co…
@pkafka Peter Kafka on x
Now a real thing. *BUT* recall that YouTube went through this for a while — lost AT&T, others — but came back more or less unscathed. https://twitter.com/...
@levie Aaron Levie on x
Wow this is a nontrivial move for a Telco to do. https://twitter.com/...
@claireatki Claire Atkinson on x
The biggest advertiser so far to put Facebook on notice. https://twitter.com/...
@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
Verizon will boycott Facebook ads in July after joining the “Stop Hate for Profit” campaign against Facebook that's being organized by the Anti-Defamation League, Common Sense Media, and others. Biggest company by far to join the boycott.
@annmlipton Ann Lipton on x
“We do not make policy changes tied to revenue pressure,...We set our policies based on principles rather than business interests.” Everyone who believes that, stand on your head. https://www.wsj.com/...
@johnbattelle John Battelle on x
""We do not make policy changes tied to revenue pressure," Carolyn Everson, VP at Facebook, said in an email to advertisers last weekend." “Revenue pressure” is such a BS term. These are companies and people who think you're doing the wrong thing. https://www.wsj.com/...
@campuscodi Catalin Cimpanu on x
Translation: We make enough money. Losing 500 advertisers doesn't hurt us even in the slightest https://twitter.com/...
@sizpatel Sahil Patel on x
“We set our policies based on principles rather than business interests.” 🧐 There's a lot of people who would argue Facebook's current policies are entirely business-driven. https://www.wsj.com/...
@lenshermancbs Len Sherman on x
“We do not make policy changes tied to revenue pressure,” a senior Facebook executive said in an email to advertisers. “We set our policies based on principles rather than business interests.” And their principle is, “our biz model is f#cking great.” https://www.wsj.com/...
@david_marcelis David Marcelis on x
Facebook is trying to keep a boycott from a handful of marketers from turning into a widespread revolt. Meanwhile, Verizon just announced it was pausing its Facebook and Instagram advertising. By @VranicaWSJ https://www.wsj.com/...
@yoda Drew Olanoff on x
“We won't do the right thing to keep the people who pay us money confident in our business ethics and long term relevance” https://twitter.com/...

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