But like Coca-Cola, Starbucks has declared that it will not join this boycott. (File)
Washington:
Starbucks said on Sunday it will suspend advertising on social media while it studies ways to “stop the spread of hate speech” as part of a growing corporate movement.
“We believe in bringing communities together, in person and online, and we oppose hate speech,” said the Seattle-based company, which operates thousands of restaurants around the world, in a brief statement.
“We believe that more needs to be done to create welcoming and inclusive online communities, and we believe that business leaders and policy makers must come together to bring about real change.”
The coffee giant added: “We will suspend advertising on all social media platforms while we continue discussions internally, with our media partners and with civil rights organizations with the aim of stop the spread of hate speech. “
In the midst of an intense national debate on racism and frequent eruptions of ugly hate speech on social networks, Starbucks followed the example of other big companies like Unilever and Coca-Cola, which announced similar breaks on Friday. .
Major social media platforms, but particularly Facebook, have come under heavy criticism for failing to eliminate racist or hate messages.
Calls for Facebook’s boycott of advertising next month came from NAACP, the large civil rights group that defends the interests of African Americans, and the Anti-Defamation League, which fights anti-Semitism.
But like Coca-Cola, Starbucks has declared that it will not join this boycott.
The company said it would continue to use social media to communicate with customers and employees.
Starbucks, which employs a large number of racial minorities in the United States, has itself been criticized for its management of racial issues.
In April 2018, the arrest of two black men at a Starbucks restaurant in Philadelphia, who had made no purchases but refused to leave on demand, caused an outcry nationwide.
The men, who were handcuffed outside the restaurant with handcuffs, were later released without charge.
The chain apologized, made it clear that its policy in the future would not repeat the Philadelphia incident, and closed more than 8,000 stores in the United States to allow employees to receive training on racial diversity. .
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
