Front Burner

Can an ad boycott fix Facebook's hate speech problem?

As more and more companies boycott Facebook ads for the month, Taylor Owen, who studies media and democracy at McGill University, talks to host Josh Bloch about whether pressure from advertisers can actually fix online hate and misinformation on the platform.

Over 800 companies are pulling their ads from Facebook this month

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg pauses while speaking about the new Facebook News feature at the Paley Center For Media on Oct. 25, 2019 in New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Over 800 companies, including Microsoft, Lululemon, Pfizer and Canada's five biggest banks are pulling their ads from Facebook this month. They're just a few of the companies responding to the Stop Hate for Profit boycott, led by civil rights groups who want white supremacist content and misleading climate and vaccine information off the platform. 

Today on Front Burner, we talk to McGill's Beaverbrook Chair in Media, Ethics and Communications and Big Tech Podcast co-host Taylor Owen on whether a threat to the tech giant's bottom line is the right incentive to deal with hate speech on the platform.

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