This archive report was first published on 7 July 2020.
Facebook has been under intense scrutiny for its handling of hate speech on its platforms, with a growing number of advertisers pulling their ads in protest.
On June 25, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a review of the company's policies on hate speech and voter suppression, which would see it ban hate advertisements targeting racial groups or ethnicities and label posts that violate its policies, even from politicians.
However, the move did little to stem the tide of advertisers pulling out of the platform. In the past two weeks, more than 160 major brands have joined the #StopHateForProfit campaign, which seeks to stop Facebook from promoting hate and making money from it.
Facebook generates about 98% of its $70 billion annual revenue from advertising, making the boycott a significant blow to the company's bottom line.
Despite the pressure, Facebook has defended its policies, saying it has been working to get rid of hateful content on its platforms and has found and taken action on nearly 90% of hate speech posts before they are reported to the company.
“We invest billions of dollars each year to keep our community safe and continuously work with outside experts to review and update our policies,” a Facebook spokesperson told The EastAfrican in an email.
However, the company's efforts have been criticized as insufficient, with many calling for more drastic action to be taken to address the issue of hate speech on the platform.
