As you may already
know, many companies are taking part in an initiative that is raising voice
against inequality and racism. Whether it was Coca Cola or Verizon or Unilever,
companies are halting the use of advertisement on their social media pages to
raise voice against systemic discrimination and the hate speech that results as
a consequence. The Coffee giant is the latest company to join this campaign as
it believes that “both business leaders
and policymakers need to come together to affect real change.”

A blog post titled “Creating Welcoming and Inclusive Online
Communities” reads:

“We will pause advertising on all social media platforms while we
continue discussions internally, with our media partners and with civil rights
organizations in the effort to stop the spread of hate speech.”

However, Starbucks spokesperson
was quick to clarify that the advertising pause would not include YouTube.
Although it has said no to paid promotions, for now, the social media posting
will continue.

Despite refusing to put up ads,
Starbucks is not “officially” part
of the “Stop Hate For Profit” campaign
which is staged by the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP. This campaign is
essentially arranged to target Facebook and vocalize the moderation policies
around violent threats that exist on the platform. Whether it is the spreading of
misinformation, violent policies, or hate speech – it’s nice to see that giant
corporates are using their power to fight against such ignorance. So far
Unilever, the North Face, Verizon, Patagonia, Honda, Ben & Jerry’s, Magnolia Pictures, and Hershey are all part of the campaign.

Coca-Cola literally functioned
like a catalyst for the movement as it went a step ahead and announced that it
will be pausing all digital advertising on its social media platforms.

Mark Zuckerberg has made a few
changes in the last couple of weeks and said the following to address this issue: “Facebook stands for giving people a voice,
and that especially means people who have previously not had as much voice, or
as much power to share their own experiences. It’s really important that we
make sure our platforms live up to these principles.”