Facebook loses almost €53 billion in market value in two days as advertising boycott continues over racist posts

By Tony Winterburn • 30 June 2020 • 8:47

A staggering €53 billion ($60bn) was wiped off Facebook shares yesterday as advertisers like Starbucks joined the long list of companies pulling their advertisements.

FACEBOOK shares plummeted yesterday after losing almost €53 billion ($60 billion) from its market value after a massive two-day stock decline as more advertisers joined the boycott of the social network. Stocks in the world’s largest social media platform rose slightly at 1.2 per cent again Monday afternoon after shaking off a loss earlier in the morning.

Starbucks and Pepsi have joined 160 firms boycotting Facebook over ‘failure to stop hate speech’ after shares plunged by a jaw-dropping €53 billion.

The Stop Hate for Profit campaign

The social media giant is facing a defection of advertisers tired of the racist and violent posts spreading through the social network. A long list of companies has pulled advertising from Facebook Inc in support of a campaign that called out the social media giant for not doing enough to stop hate speech on its platforms.

The Stop Hate for Profit campaign was started by several US civil rights groups after the death of black man George Floyd in police custody triggered widespread protests against racial discrimination in the United States.

Facebook makes an incredible $70 billion annually from ads, the coalition claimed in a statement on the ADL website.

The campaign has criticised Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to not moderate the US president, in particular, after the Facebook CEO defended his decision not to limit Trump’s often controversial, incendiary, and inaccurate posts.

Coronavirus has seen a climb in Facebook’s share prices to the best they’ve been since 2012 come mid-June. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously refused to take action against divisive hate speech due to a fear of censorship.