Businesses With a Give-Back Mission Caught in Facebook Ad Ban:
What do a small business that sell socks packaged by homeless youth and a start-up that makes bracelets from life vests once worn by refugees have to do with the spread of misinformation during the presidential election season?
Nothing, thought the entrepreneurs who started them, until Facebook notified them that their ads had been pulled because they fell into a category of "social issues, elections or politics" that were being blocked by the site.
The social media giant announced last week that it was extending a ban imposed on certain ads during the election to prevent the dissemination of false information. The prohibition has ensnared a number of socially driven businesses with no direct connection to partisan politics.
Companies connected to issues like hunger, the environment and immigration, many of which rely heavily on social media to draw customers to their websites, have seen their access abruptly cut off.
"We're just selling socks and trying to do a good thing," said Sam Harper, 27, co-founder of Hippy Feet, a company in Minneapolis that employs homeless youth. "We are not trying to advance any particular agenda around homelessness and unemployment."
[...] "Facebook is thinking of the political campaigns, and we are collateral damage in the process," Mr. Harper said.
The entrepreneurs say they do not begrudge Facebook for barring falsehoods and misleading content. But they contend that it is unfair that their do-good businesses are being lumped in with politically motivated advertisers. With the crucial holiday season fast approaching, some fear that the ban, extended on Nov. 11 for another month, could spell their demise.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Mojibake Tengu on Wednesday November 18 2020, @12:00PM (2 children)
Obviously, it's a bad idea to rely on Facebook with operations critical for living.
The reason is simple: In a digital world, you have no guarantees of anything.
Because, unlike material world, which represents the true reality (this is where the socks belong to), digital world is unfixed. Everything in it is ephemeral. Those who don't understand that yet surely will when the Facebook cease to be.
Rust programming language offends both my Intelligence and my Spirit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 18 2020, @02:11PM (1 child)
Unless your playing the victim card to get free news coverage. Poor little happy feet are being picked on by the big meany Face. Awww.....
(Score: 1, Troll) by choose another one on Wednesday November 18 2020, @04:58PM
Yeah, this.
"Our Facebook advertising campaign failed, lets try going to the media with a 'Facebook ****ed us' story and see if we can get free publicity that way"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Wednesday November 18 2020, @02:39PM (1 child)
$14-24 for a pair of, mostly, polyester socks? Pass. I'm not sure about their business model but it seems that they are looking for a handout or a gift and in return they give you a pair of socks. I guess people buy them for the good cause and not so much for the actual value of the products.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Freeman on Wednesday November 18 2020, @05:35PM
You're not buying Girl Scout cookies or your co-workers' son's candy bars, because of the quality. You're buying it to help them fund X thing.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 4, Insightful) by DannyB on Wednesday November 18 2020, @06:14PM
Facebook is doing this because any act of social responsibility is a political act. Homeless Youth, for example, should take personal responsibility, rather than rely on a job offered by a small* business to package socks. And making bracelets from discarded life vests? That definitely qualifies as a social issue!
*if a big corporation (corporations are people too!) were _exploiting_ homeless youth to package socks, then this would be okay.
Thank goodness the 1st amendment forces people to listen to you and agree with you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 18 2020, @06:36PM
No business that's worth-a-shit "gives back to the community". Businesses that claim otherwise are usually fronts for embezzlement involving private and public funding sources. If the PR emphasis is taken to obnoxiously ridiculous levels, chances are it's LEA chumming (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumming).