Faecbook’s troubling decision to put profits over truth have put advertisers in a tough position. No one wants to present their product or service on a platform that shares lies and hatred. Facebook’s hands-off policy worked in a more benign time, but in the era of deep fakes and purposeful untruths that policy needs to change.

Touchy issue which, to me, depends entirely on a brand’s positioning (and target customer). If the conversation can be framed around the idea of “truth” vs. anything political, AND your brand has matched the importance of that within its full life’s journey, I’d say yes. Otherwise, staying quiet is NOT saying “we’re behind misinformation,” so, I’d hold off. The brand should be able to answer the question, or not.

Advertisers should advertise where they feel it will do the most good for whatever reason they choose. We would assume these retailers don’t advertise on media controlled by Fox for the same reasons. From Facebook’s perspective, it’s a website – it can do, or not do, whatever it wants. The fact that many Facebookians can’t discriminate between fact and fiction is not Facebook’s problem, although it is probably an indictment of the American education system.

Like it or not, ethics are roaring back into a company’s business model for revenue and profit generation. That means retailers and brands will be held accountable for all their business decisions. Look at your current customer and future customer base, your own brand values, and make decisions that align with those fundamental priorities.

I believe Facebook has crossed the line. They are more interested in profit than people. They are partly responsible for the political situation we now find ourselves in. They claim platform immunity but are really just courting favor in DC. What they are doing is giving a voice to the darkest element in our society and they are on the wrong side of history. They cannot be neutral when faced with fascism and white nationalism, they need to stand up for what is right.

We live in a society where unfortunately the balance between profit (did I mean to say greed? Yes I did…) and social consciousness are way out of balance. I know it’s hard to draw a line between free speech and decency, but wherever that line should be drawn — Facebook can do better. Putting a little pressure on the profit (greed) side of the equation seems like a good way to strike the balance right now.

Brands increasingly have to recognize that for a significant number of their customers, the kind of “free speech” allowed by Facebook increasingly has no place in our society. That “free speech” unfortunately includes the vitriol put forward by Trump and his followers, some of which has finally been removed even by Facebook.

In our work, and that of others, it’s increasingly clear that post-COVID-19 and with the broad movement against racism, corporate positions on these issues and corporate social responsibility matter to customers. While it remains to be seen how those customers view advertising on Facebook and actions to combat racism, there is at least a large segment that is going to hold brands responsible for their actions or inactions that do good or harm to our society.

It takes corporate leadership to make tough decisions and REI, The North Face and agencies like 360i, have all done so. They should be commended.

Disclosure: I am an immediate past ADL Regional Board Chair and continue to support the organization and the boycott against Facebook.