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The parent company of Dove, Lipton and Ben & Jerry's is ready to cut off their ads on Facebook and Google.
Unilever is threatening to pull its ads from Facebook and Google over what it claims are supersaturation of "fake news, racism, sexism, and extremism."
"Unilever (UL), which owns brands including Dove, Lipton, and Ben & Jerry's, is one of the world's top advertisers. It has an annual marketing budget of roughly €8 billion ($9.8 billion), and 25% of its ads are digital," reported CNN. Facebook receives roughly 60 percent of all online marketing revenue, and its monopoly is beginning to frustrate advertisers. In an upcoming speech, Unilever marketing chief Keith Weed compares transparency on Facebook to that of a "swamp."
Per CNN: "Unilever, one of the world's biggest advertisers, is threatening to pull ads from platforms like Google and Facebook, saying they have become a "swamp" of fake news, racism, sexism and extremism https://cnn.it/2nTMCQJ"
"We cannot continue to prop up a digital supply chain ... which at times is little better than a swamp in terms of its transparency," Weed wrote in his speech. "This is not something that can brushed aside or ignored."
Some Twitter users were thrilled with the news. "BRAVO@Unilever threatens to pull its ads from Google and Facebook over concerns that these digital platforms are a "swamp" of fake news, racism, sexism and extremism#BuyUnilever," Dr. Dena Grayson tweeted.
Others pointed out that Unilever's move was a sign of corporate responsibility in action.
Others were quick to point out that the only way to induce any change is to go after Facebook's wallet.
"Thank goodness @Unilever is trying to get @facebook to do something about the BS that they refuse to do anything about. More advertisers need to hit them in the wallet and force them to clean up their act," wrote Jim.
Others agreed wholeheartedly. Go after their pocketbooks.
Here's hoping Unilever's move sparks some real change.