Studios staying silent, for now
Hollywood shies away from advertisement boycott of Facebook
LOS ANGELES — More than 1,000 companies have halted their Facebook advertising over the past month as part of a protest over the social network’s handling of hate speech, with most major industries represented in the boycott.
Pharmaceutical giants Pfizer Inc. and Bayer have joined the anti-Facebook campaign. So have Microsoft Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. Also represented are industries like apparel (Levi Strauss, Eddie Bauer), autos (Ford Motor Co., Honda), household products (Unilever, KimberlyClark) and beverages (Coca-Cola Co., Starbucks).
But one of Facebook’s most important advertising categories — Hollywood — has been noticeably silent even though stopping hate speech is one of the entertainment industry’s longtime causes. As of last week, only Magnolia Pictures, a small distributor of foreign films and documentaries, and the nonprofit Sesame Street had joined what civil rights groups are calling the #StopHateForProfit boycott.
“Where is Hollywood?” Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the AntiDefamation League, asked during a discussion this month 2 with The Wrap, an entertainment news site. “It’s time. It’s time for them to take a stand. It’s time for them to say that Facebook needs to stop hate for profit.”
Netflix, ViacomCBS Inc., The Walt Disney Co., WarnerMedia, Lionsgate, STX and Sony Pictures Entertainment did not respond to queries.
NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast Corp., said in a statement: “We are actively engaged in conversations with Facebook across a number of Comcast NBCUniversal businesses to address the use of hate speech and other objectionable content on their platform. Our brands are monitoring the situation, and each is evaluating its next steps, including altering advertising plans, if necessary.”
The Walt Disney Co. was Facebook’s No. 1 advertiser from Jan. 1 to June 30, spending an estimated $212 million — more than double No. 2 Procter & Gamble Co., according to the advertising analytics platform Pathmatics. (Procter & Gamble has not publicly joined the Facebook campaign.) WarnerMedia, ViacomCBS and Lionsgate ranked among Facebook’s top 15 advertisers during that period.
Hollywood is sitting out the boycott for a simple reason, said Barry Lowenthal, chief executive of Media Kitchen, a media buying agency: “They need Facebook too much and don’t want to make it mad.”
Terry Press, a former president of CBS Films, noted that entertainment companies tended to move slowly even when they wanted to participate.
“It’s not surprising that the entertainment industry finds itself behind other giant corporations on this,” Press said.
A few other industries — banking, news media, travel — are also largely absent from the boycott list.
Senior officials at multiple studios said they believed they could be more effective in pushing Facebook to police hate speech more rigorously by working through back channels. Besides, they said, movie studios are not spending much money on advertising right now because theaters are closed.
A couple of studios said they believed they were already doing enough on the topic of social justice, whether by increasing donations to organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or announcing inclusionoriented hiring programs.
Other entertainment executives noted that marketing new movies and television shows would be difficult without Facebook, which is both a hammer (huge audience reach) and a scalpel (offering an ability to precisely target consumers).
Facebook has defended its policies while also vowing to do a better job of combating racism and misinformation.