Ok, so Facebook and similar platforms have proven to be tainted! Why is this surprising given that pretty much any commercial entity that is really big has gotten that way off the backs of some individuals - this is the nature of capitalism? While I regularly highlight really gross tainted occurrences (e.g. Sackler) and the resulting need for nonprofits to be clear about policies about what sources of money they will accept, the idea that there is tainted occurrences beyond money is not one of my regular topics. But Facebook has brought this to the forefront of my mind and so I am including the following copy from the chronicle of philanthropy's newsletter. Here too is another need or opportunity for board discussion and subsequent policy making.
Good morning.
Facebook got our attention this week. We weren’t catching up with friends and family but instead weighing a crucial ethical question: Should mission-oriented organizations engage their audiences on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, given all the revelations in recent weeks by whistleblowers and others about the proliferation of misinformation, hate speech, and other damaging posts?
Eden Stiffman talked to many organizations and digital marketing experts and found that most groups are still sticking with the social-media company. But some are pulling back.
UnidosUs, for instance, decided in October to sever ties with Facebook. That meant the organization, formerly known as the National Council of La Raza, returned or refused $277,272 in grants from the social-media behemoth’s corporate office.
UnidosUS was already aware of the harms Latinos face as a result of the platform’s policies and products, says Claudia Ruiz, a civil-rights analyst at the nonprofit, but the revelations from Frances Haugen, the former Facebook employee-turned-whistleblower, were the “line in the sand.”
But UnidosUS isn’t pulling back from Meta’s platforms entirely.
The organization wants to take on the proliferation of misinformation and hate on the platform, and officials recognize that Facebook is where a lot of people get their news, Ruiz says. “We really can’t address the onslaught of misinformation without also providing positive and accurate information as well.
A lot of other groups don’t think they can afford to lose the attention they gain on Facebook.
Charities have to weigh using a vendor that “has contributed to making the country worse” against what it would mean to abandon the platform and not reach the new audiences and supporters they otherwise would, says Matt Derby, senior vice president at M+R, a nonprofit marketing and communications consultancy.
Derby adds that there won’t be any letup in the need for nonprofits to have policies about what platforms they use.
“Facebook is where people are, as are places like YouTube and Amazon,” he says. “This will probably come up again. There are equally questions about if you should advertise on TikTok or any of the Google properties.