Zuckerberg Loses $7.2 Billion As Leading Companies Boycott Ads On Facebook

Shares of Facebook Inc dipped 8.3% after Unilever joined other brands in boycotting ads on the social network.

After Unilever said it would stop spending money with Facebook’s properties this year, the share price dropped significantly, the most in three months, to eliminate $56 billion from Facebook’s market.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth fell by $7.2 billion to $82.3 billion, as per Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Zuckerberg thus slipped one notch to fourth in the list of world’s richest people, his place being occupied by Louis Vuitton boss Bernard Arnault. Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates continue to occupy the top two spots.

Companies like Verizon Communications Inc and Hershey Co. are among others to have stopped social media ads after the theory gained ground that Facebook has failed to police hate speech and disinformation on its platform.

Coco-Cola also said it would stop paid advertisements on all social media platforms for at least 30 days.

Zuckerberg responded by announcing that the company would label all voting-related posts with a link encouraging users to look at its new voter information hub.

Facebook also expanded its definition of ‘prohibited hate’ speech, adding a clause that says no adverts will be allowed if they label another demographic as dangerous.