Note: This article is excerpted from The Economist on July 4With a little help from its friendsWith the slight help of a friend.The social network is well placed to weather an ad boycottThe social networking giant is well placed to deal with the ad boycott.1. Social Network know a thing or two about virality. Still, Facebook was probably surprised by the speed at which a small protest, begun on June 17th by a collection of American civil-rights groups, has gained steam. By July 1st the #StopHateForProfit campaign, which accuses it of publishing material that incites violence, helped persuade more than 600 firms, including giants like Pfizer, Starbucks and Unilever, to pull ads from the platform.Viral marketing on social networks is common. Still, Facebook surprised Facebook by the speed with which a small protest by a U.S. civil rights group spread on June 17. As of July 1, the Stop Using Hate campaign, which has led more than 600 companies, including Pfizer, Starbucks and Unilever, to remove ads from the platform, accused Facebook of publishing content that incites violence.2. Why the exodus? Principle is presumably part of it. So is peer pressure, which is rising as the list of boycotters lengthens. Admittedly, it is a particularly convenient time to make a stand, as firms pare back ad dollars amid the coronavirus recession. Starbucks, for instance, has spent $11m on Facebook ads in America since March, when lockdowns began. During the same period in 2019 it spent $29m, according to Pathmatics, a data company.Why is the underground frame so large? Partly in principle, partly because of peer pressure that increases with the boycott list. To be sure, now is the perfect time to take a stand, as the company cut advertising costs during the recession caused by the new crown. Starbucks has spent $11 million on Facebook ads since the March lockdown, and data company Pathmatics says it spent $19 million on Facebook ads in the same period in 2019.3. If ad dollars move elsewhere, possible beneficiaries include smaller rivals like Snapchat, Pinterest and TikTok, as well as YouTube, owned by Google. Some advertisers may even go back to quaint things like newspapers and tv, believes Andrew Lips man of eMarketer, a research firm.If ads move elsewhere, potential beneficiaries could include Snapchat, Pinterest and TikTok, as well as Google's YouTube. Andrew Lips of eMarketer, a research firm, thinks some advertisers may even go back to old things like newspapers and television.4. Yet the damage to Facebook is likely to be small. After a brief boycott-induced dip its share price is back up near its all-time high. Its $70bn ad business is built on 8m advertisers, most of them tiny companies with marketing budgets in the hundreds or thousands of dollars and often reliant on Facebook as an essential digital storefront. The 100 largest advertisers on the site account for less than 20% of total revenue, compared with 71% for the 100 largest advertisers on American network television (see chart 1). And so far only a handful of Facebook’s top 50 ad-buyers have joined the boycott (see chart 2).However, the damage to Facebook is not great. Facebook's share price has risen back to near-all-time highs after a brief drop in the price of the boycott. Its $70 billion advertising business is built on 8 million advertisers, mostly small companies with marketing budgets of tens or thousands of dollars, who rely on the digital storefronts Facebook provides for them. Facebook's top 100 advertisers account for less than 20 per cent of its advertising revenue, compared with 71 per cent for US television networks (see chart 1). So far, only a handful of Facebook's top 50 advertisers have joined the boycott (see chart 2).
5. Facebook has promised tweaks. Like Twitter, it will label posts that break its rules but are newsworthy enough to remain up. Other tech firms have tightened their moderation, too. On June 29th YouTube blocked various white-supremacist channels. Twitch, a video site, suspended President Donald Trump’s own channel for“hateful conduct”. Reddit deleted a forum,“The_Donald”, over hate speech.Facebook has promised to make changes. Like Twitter, Facebook will tag posts that break the rules and have news value. Other technology companies have also tightened their controls. On June 29th YouTube blocked various white supremacist channels. Video site Twitch suspended President Donald Trump's "disgusting behavior" channel. Reddit removed a forum called "The_Donald" because of hate speech.6. This points to a pressure greater than advertising : politics. American tech firms have walked a fine line between Republicans, who accuse them of being too censorious, and Democrats, who want closer moderation. Now, as Mr Trump’s poll numbers swoon, Silicon Valley seems to be edging towards the Democratic view of things. Time, perhaps, to make new friends.This involves more pressure than advertising, namely politics. U.S. technology companies have been walking a tightrope between Republicans and Democrats, who accuse them of being too critical, while Democrats want them to be more moderate. Now that Mr. Trump's approval ratings have plummeted, Silicon Valley appears to be moving closer to the Democratic Party. Maybe it's time to make new friends.
Chapter structure.P1：Facebook is facing a blanket ad boycott: big companies pull down ads.P2：Reasons companies withdraw advertising: principles and peer pressure.P3：Boycotting Facebook may benefit some of the smaller tech companies.P4：But the boycott isn't hurting Facebook much, and Facebook's revenue comes mainly from small companies.P5：Facebook has promised to overhaul, and other Silicon Valley companies have made the changes.P6：Behind the Facebook boycott is the political tussle; Facebook may turn to the Democratic Party.Key words.be well placed toSuitable for;With those studies in hand, we would be well placed to scale up and globalize prevention. With these studies in hand, we will be in a better position to increase prevention and globalize it.weather /'weðə/n. Weather; Weather; Situation; Climate v. To withstand; to weather; to erode; to make the wind and rain hit adj. Open air; wind-facing.The company just managed to weather the recession.The company barely survived the recession.She refuses to resign, intending to weather the storm (= wait until the situation improves again) .She refused to resign and wanted to stand the test of the storm.boycott /'bɒɪkɒt/vt. boycott; refusal to participate in n. Boycott.primary boycott (trade) primary boycott; Direct boycott;Group boycotts collectively.Secondary boycott indirectly.boycott foreign goods boycott foreign goods.They're boycotting the shop.viraldj. Filtered sexually toxic bacteria;Demonstration viralviral marketing.Collaboration viral synergy propagation.Communication virality communication effects spread.Incentiv virality incentive effect spread.Outbreak viral marketing in Outbreak.Pure word of mouth virality topic sexual communication.Word-of-mouth viral viral marketing.“I think the best kind of virality, ” he said, “is a product that people like so much that they just want to tell people about it.” "I think the best viral marketing," he says, "is that the product is so popular with users that they want to tell others about it."incite /ɪn'saɪt/vt. To incite; to motivate; to stimulate.yn. Incendiary, stimulating;Inciting adj. Incendiary; stimulating.Inciting incident raises an event.instigate incite instigation.Incite revolt instigates rebellion.His bravery incited the soldiers to fight continuously.His bravery inspired the soldiers to keep fighting.pull … from Take it out; From... Take.Testers will need to pull from other artifacts when building tests cases for the following types of tests. When building a test case for the following test steps, the tester needs to pull from other artifacts.exodus /'eksədəs/n. Mass departure.rural exodus moved out of the countryside;Its central bank has enough capacity to absorb a greater exodus of capital.The country's central bank is well-equipped to absorb the impact of more capital flight.Peer pressure peer pressure; Pressure from peers.Rosenberg argues convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure.Rosenberg argues that it is convincing that public health advocates should learn from advertisers who are good at applying peer pressure.lengthen /'leŋθ (ə)n/vt. To extend;Length n. Length, length; length of time;Length by length length step by step.She had to lengthen her stirrup leathers.She has to put on a long horse belt.make a standTo resist; to stop; to take a stand.make a stand against argument;They make a stand against any violent action. They spoke out against any violence.Russia's offer may be based on the assumption that Japan will have to pare back its reliance on nuclear energy. Russia's comments may be based on the assumption that Japan will have to phase out its reliance on nuclear power.beneficiary /benɪ'fɪʃ (ə) rɪ/n. Beneficiaries; recipients; salaried priests, salaried clergy adj. To be saint; to own a sealed land.The name of the recipient of the beneficiary name;Her husband was the chief beneficiary of her will.Her husband is the main beneficiary of her will.quaint /kweɪnt/adj. Antique; rare, quirky.quaintness n. Bizarrely funny; weird things.They still keep some quaint old customs.They still retain some strange old customs.dip /dɪp/vt. Dip, dip; s vi. (Make) a slight drop, (make) sink; (make) down and then go up n. Bathing, soaking water; down.Dip into immersion in... li; a little research.Take a dip take a bath; go for a swim.The land dips gently to the south.The ground tilts slightly south.The birds rose and dip in their flight.The birds are flying up and down.back up vi. (due to accumulation) congestion, blocking vt. Support, Assistance, Regression, (Data) Backup.Get one's back up makes someone angry.Back sb up supports someone.Back up protection back-up protection;Back up supply backup power.The accident backed up traffic.The accident caused a traffic jam.storefront /'stɔːfrʌnt/n.shopfront (room), paved (room); On the street; working on the first floor.virtual storefront virtual storefront; A real storefront.storefront window shop window.Storefront show store show display.The storefronts and other businesses look just as they did decades ago.Roadside shops and other shops look like they were decades ago.tweak /twik/n. screw;twisting;adjustment;anxious vt. To twist; pull hard; turn full horsepower; adjust.Tweaking the constitution is not the answer.Amending the Constitution is not the solution to the problem.newsworthy /'njuːzwɜːðɪ/adj.reporting value.Newsworthy orientation news value orientation orientation.Newsworthy pictures have newsworthy photos.News eventworthy has news worthy events.We also have a specific point in our policies where newsworthy content.We also pay special attention to policies that have reported value.remain upKeep it in... above;This page will remain up for historical purposes. This page will remain historic.moderation /mɒdə'reɪʃ (ə) n/n. Self-control;moderate adj. Medium, Moderate, Not Large; Moderate, steady, not extreme vt. s vi. (to make) to mitigate the ease of the Control.in moderation moderate; moderate.Moderation is the key to good health.A controlled life is the key to health.white-supremacist White supremacists;He saw himself as a white supremacist.He saw himself as a white supremacist.suspend /sə's spend/v. Delay, delay;suspend production is discontinued.suspend payment v. declared bankrupt.Trump suspended joint military exercises with South Korea.Trump suspended joint military exercises with South Korea.censorious /sen'sɔːrɪəs/adj. Critical, nitpicking.A long angry or violent speech,usually of a censorious or denunciatory nature;a diatribe.A long, angry or intense tirade, usually picky or reprehensible.swoon /swu:n/vi. Faint; surprise; obsessive n. dizzy;swoon for joy ecstasy; Translation;Swoon with pain fainted in pain.The boy had a swoon , but soon came round.The boy fainted, but soon he woke up.And as they got more comfortable with me, they edged towards their real question of concern.As they became more relaxed, they began to ask real concerns.Key sentences.By July 1st the #StopHateForProfit campaign, which accuses it of publishing material that incites violence, helped persuade more than 600 firms, including giants like Pfizer, Starbucks and Unilever, to pull ads from the platform.
This sentence, the backbone is: By July 1st the #StopHateForProfit campaign helped wyed more than 600 firms to pull from ads the platform. The middle of the whote accuses it of the public sit that incites violence is a whote-guided non-qualifying set from the clause, retouched by the "StopHateForProfit campaign," explains the specific content of the "StopHateForProfit campaign," the later singing giants Pfizer, Starbucks and Unilever add the previous than the more 600 firms included.Insist on it will be fruitful!For more previous content, please reply at the public number backofficeIntensive reading.More interesting articles are waiting for you.
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