Facebook, Twitter shares drop as European giant pulls ads
San Francisco: Shares of Facebook and Twitter dropped sharply Friday after the the giant company behind brands such as Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Dove soap said it will halt U.S. advertising on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram through at least the end of the year.
That European consumer-product maker, Unilever, said it took the move to protest the amount of hate speech online. Unilever said the polarized atmosphere in the United States ahead of November's presidential election placed responsibility on brands to act.
Shares of both Facebook and Twitter fell roughly 7% following Unilever's announcement.
The company, which is based in the Netherlands and Britain, joins a raft of other advertisers pulling back from online platforms. Facebook in particular has been the target of an escalating movement to withhold advertising dollars to pressure it to do more to prevent racist and violent content from being shared on its platform.
We have decided that starting now through at least the end of the year, we will not run brand advertising in social media newsfeed platforms Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the U.S.," Unilever said. Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society. Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Thursday, Verizon joined others in the Facebook boycott.
Sarah Personette, vice president of global client solutions at Twitter, said the company's mission is to serve the public conversation and ensure Twitter is a place where people can make human connections, seek and receive authentic and credible information, and express themselves freely and safely.
She added that Twitter is "respectful of our partners' decisions and will continue to work and communicate closely with them during this time.
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Cal HC urges EC to dispose of TMC complaint over police observer's meeting with BJP nominee
Kolkata (PTI): The Calcutta High Court has requested the Election Commission to address the TMC's complaint that a police observer in South 24 Parganas district for the assembly polls met a BJP candidate in violation of norms.
The TMC prayed for the removal of the said officer from the role of police observer in four assembly constituencies -- Magrahat Purba, Magrahat Paschim, Diamond Harbour and Falta.
The EC stated before the court that the observer met the candidate in an official capacity at the designated conference room for meetings at a state government-owned tourist lodge in Diamond Harbour, and there was nothing confidential about it as alleged by the petitioner.
Justice Krishna Rao, after hearing the parties in the matter last week, "requested" the Election Commission of India to dispose of the complaint filed by the TMC and to communicate the order to the petitioner.
The TMC alleged in the petition that during his stay at the tourist lodge, the officer held a private and unofficial meeting with the candidate fielded by the BJP from the Magrahat Paschim assembly constituency.
Senior advocate D S Naidu, representing the Election Commission, stated before the court that sub-clause 3 of Clause 3 of the Observer’s Handbook provides that for all purposes, a police observer would act as the eyes and ears of the ECI during the period of election and provide direct input to the commission.
He stated before the court that a police observer has to meet the public as well as the candidates and to submit a report to the Commission.
Naidu further submitted that the TMC's allegation that the police observer in question met with the BJP candidate in a personal manner is baseless, as he met the said candidate in an official capacity along with others.
