Adizzying number of marketers have in recent days announced plans to pause advertising on Facebook and other social media sites, as civil rights groups ratchet up the pressure on platforms to curb hate speech. The snowball effect mirrors past pullbacks against digital platforms, namely the YouTube “adpocalypse” from 2017. However, the current wave arrives amid a unique confluence of global events, including a pandemic and civil rights movement, that could provide greater leverage for change — assuming marketers can commit to resetting their agendas beyond a temporary spending freeze.
