Facebook shares dip after Kim Kardashian West announces boycott
Shares in Facebook dipped this afternoon after Kim Kardashian West announced that she was freezing her account in protest against the sharing of misinformation on the social media platform.
In a post on the site, she wrote: “I can’t sit by and stay silent while these platforms continue to allow the spreading of hate, propaganda and misinformation – created by groups to sow division and split America apart – only to take steps after people are killed.
“Misinformation shared on social media has a serious impact on our elections and undermines our democracy.”
She called on her followers on Facebook and Instagram to follow in her example and freeze their accounts.
Her post sent shares in Facebook immediately down about $3, although they recovered to close 2.1 per cent up on the day.
Kardashian West is the seventh most followed account on Instagram, with 188m followers. She has 30m followers on Facebook.
Her boycott is in support of the #StopHateforProfit campaign, which is calling on Facebook to ban any page that promotes hate.
A host of other celebrities, including Leonardo diCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Katy Perry and Sacha Baron Cohen have also signed up for the campaign.
They will boycott the platforms for 24 hours. A number of other famous faces are expected to join them in the protest.
Social media companies have been under increasing pressure to tackle the spread of misinformation on their platforms.
Facebook in particular has under fire for its handling of online pages advocating violence at protests at Kinosha in Wisconsin.