Harry and Meghan backing campaign to boycott Facebook over 'hate speech'

Harry and Meghan have joined calls to boycott Facebook for allowing hate speech. Photo / Getty Images

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are backing the campaign #StopHateForProfit, which is calling for major companies to pull their advertising campaigns from Facebook until the social media giant takes action to stop the spread of so-called hate speech, civil rights group NAACP has confirmed.

The Baltimore-based civil rights organisation, which was founded in 1909, took to Twitter this weekend to thank the Duke and Duchess of Sussex "for their leadership", adding "your commitment to truth, justice, and equality are appreciated".

The organisation, which stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, tweeted: "We are grateful for the leadership of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in recognizing the importance of solidarity in this moment. Your commitment to truth, justice, and equality are appreciated."

Shares in the platform went crashing 8.3 per cent to $216.08 by the closing bell Friday - its lowest in three months - after more than 100 advertisers boycotted the firm for its failure to stop content perceived as hate speech and misinformation being posted on its platform.

Speaking about their involvement, an insider told Town and Country magazine: "As we've been developing Archewell, one of the areas the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been keen to address is online hate speech, and we've been working with civil rights and racial justice groups on it.

A civil rights organisation thanked the couple for 'showing leadership'. Photo / Getty Images

"Over the past few weeks, in particular, this issue has become even more vital and they have been working to encourage global CEOs to stand in solidarity with a coalition of civil and racial justice groups like the NAACP, Color of Change, and the Anti-Defamation League, which are calling for structural changes to our online world."

Femail has contacted Harry and Meghan's representatives for comment. The Sussexes representatives confirmed their stance to The Insider.

Facebook shares have dropped a staggering US$56 billion after major companies including Unilever and Coca-Cola pulled their advertisements from the social media giant, despite CEO Mark Zuckerberg promising action on hate speech and putting a warning label on a Republican National Committee (RNC) video.

This wiped US$56 billion off Facebook's market value and dealt a hefty US$7.2 billion blow to Zuckerberg's personal fortune, pushing him down from third to fourth place on Bloomberg Billionaires Index and leaving him with a new net worth of US$82.3 billion.

This came after Coca-Cola and Unilever became the latest major corporations to pull the plug on Facebook advertising Friday, joining several firms including Dove, Honda and Ben & Jerry's in a show of support for the #StopHateForProfit campaign.

Zuckerberg buckled under the pressure Friday and announced new content policies for the platform, including tighter restrictions on advertising and labels for "harmful" posts from public figures.