Unilever is reportedly halting ads on Facebook and Twitter in the US for the rest of 2020 — and it's one of the biggest companies to pull ads over hate speech concerns (FB, TWTR)

It's one of the biggest companies to pull ads from social media platforms over hate speech concerns, following a group of other companies that have done the same in recent weeks.
A boycott campaign led by civil rights groups in the past month has targeted Facebook specifically, pressuring advertisers to pull ads until the platform strengthens enforcement against hate speech.
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Unilever will stop advertising on Facebook and Twitter in the US for the remainder of 2020, the company told The Wall Street Journal Friday, citing concerns that the platforms don't do enough to remove hate speech.

The consumer goods giant, which owns Dove, Lipton, Hellmann's, and a slew of other brands, is one of the largest companies to pull ads from social media over hate speech concerns.

Civil rights groups including the Anti-Defamation League and the NAACP have led a boycott specifically targeting Facebook in the last month, pressuring advertisers to stop doing business with the company until it strengthens its enforcement against hate speech and misinformation. Verizon, Patagonia, The North Face, and REI have joined the boycott .

Unilever said it was pulling ads from both Facebook and Twitter because of hate speech on the platform leading up to the 2020 election. They will also pull ads from Facebook-owned Instagram.

"Based on the current polarization and the election that we are having in the U.S., there needs to be much more enforcement in the area of hate speech," Unilever executive vice president of global media Luis Di Como told WSJ .

Twitter Vice President for Global Client Solutions Sarah Personette said in a statement to Business Insider that Twitter is "respectful" of Unilever's decision and is gathering feedback from ad partners.

"We have developed policies and platform capabilities designed to protect and serve the public conversation, and as always, are committed to amplifying voices from underrepresented communities and marginalized groups. We are respectful of our partners' decisions and will continue to work and communicate closely with them during this time," Personette said.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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