WarnerMedia, Discovery complete merger, become Warner Bros. Discovery

AT&T’s WarnerMedia unit and Discovery have completed their merger, the companies said on Friday.

The combined company, Warner Bros Discovery Inc, will start trading on the Nasdaq on Monday under the ticker symbol “WBD”.

In May last year, the companies set out to merge and become a standalone media business, with AT&T aiming to focus more on its wireless ambitions and Discovery looking to beef up its content library.

“With the close of this transaction, we expect to invest at record levels in our growth areas of 5G and fiber, where we have strong momentum,” AT&T Chief Executive Officer John Stankey said in a statement.

Warner Bros Discovery’s portfolio includes Discovery Channel, Warner Bros. Entertainment, CNN, HBO, Cartoon Network; streaming services Discovery+ and HBO Max; and franchises like “Batman” and “Harry Potter”.

A top priority for David Zaslav, the long-time Discovery veteran leading the combined entity, is to make streaming video as profitable as the old TV business, analysts said.

Discovery On Thursday announced the executive team to lead the new Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), leaning heavily on a trusted group of lieutenants, many of whom have worked with its chief executive since his days at NBC.

Nine high-level WarnerMedia executives, including Chief Executive Jason Kilar and Studios and Network chief Ann Sarnoff, announced their exits ahead of the formation of the combined company earlier this week.

Elon Musk to join Twitter board after taking $2.9bn stake

Tesla and SpaceX boss becomes social media platform’s biggest shareholder with 9.2%

Twitter has announced it is appointing Elon Musk to its board the day after the world’s richest person was revealed to be the social media platform’s biggest shareholder with a 9.2% stake.

Parag Agrawal, the Twitter chief executive, said on Tuesday that he was “excited” to announce that Musk was joining the company’s board of directors. “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our board,” he said in a tweet.

Agrawal said Musk was both a “passionate believer and intense critic” of the service and that was “exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long term”.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/apr/05/elon-musk-join-twitter-board-stake-tesla-spacex?utm_source=meio&utm_medium=email

AT&T Agrees to Merge Its WarnerMedia Assets With Discovery

 

Deal would complete telecom giant’s retreat from the media business, which included owning cable channels such as HBO and CNN

By 

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Updated May 17, 2021 9:33 pm ET

AT&T Inc. and Discovery Inc. reached a deal to combine their media assets into a new, publicly traded company, unwinding the telecom company’s big bet on entertainment after less than three years.

The new business, which isn’t yet named, will be led by current Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav. The companies said Jason Kilar will retain his title as CEO of AT&T’s WarnerMedia division but declined to say whether he would remain with the newly combined company after it secures regulatory approval.

Shares of AT&T fell 2.7% Monday, while Discovery’s stock shed 5.1% after an early rise. Discovery’s market value traded above $17 billion. AT&T, which draws most of its revenue from the telecommunications business, had a roughly $240 billion market value. The new media business will hold a little more than $55 billion of debt, Mr. Zaslav said.

AT&T Chief Executive John Stankey said in an online news conference Monday that he had been “contemplating the structure of our business for some time” and eventually decided that the pairing with Mr. Zaslav’s company would benefit both parties.

Mr. Zaslav, a media mogul and longtime friend of WarnerMedia executive and CNN boss Jeff Zucker, said the transaction came together over several months of talks that included chats in the Discovery chief’s Greenwich Village brownstone.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-t-to-combine-warnermedia-division-with-discovery-11621250928

AT&T’s WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. Creating Standalone Company by Combining Operations to Form New Global Leader in Entertainment

 

May 17, 2021

Companies with Shared Values, Complementary Assets, and Iconic Brands and Franchises, Will Offer the Most Differentiated Content Portfolio in the World

WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. Form One of the Largest Global Streaming Players

Discovery President & CEO David Zaslav to Lead New Company with Executives from Both Companies in Key Leadership Roles

AT&T and Discovery Will Hold Joint Press Conference at 7:30am EDT and a Separate Call with Investors Will Begin at 8:30am EDT

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) today announced a definitive agreement to combine WarnerMedia’s  premium entertainment, sports and news assets with Discovery's leading nonfiction and international entertainment and sports businesses to create a premier, standalone global entertainment company.

Under the terms of the agreement, which is structured as an all-stock, Reverse Morris Trust transaction, AT&T would receive $43 billion (subject to adjustment) in a combination of cash, debt securities, and WarnerMedia’s retention of certain debt, and AT&T’s shareholders would receive stock representing 71% of the new company; Discovery shareholders would own 29% of the new company. The Boards of Directors of both AT&T and Discovery have approved the transaction.

The companies expect the transaction will create substantial value for AT&T and Discovery shareholders by:

• Bringing together the strongest leadership teams, content creators, and high-quality series and film libraries in the media business.
• Accelerating both companies’ plans for leading direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming services for global consumers.
• Uniting complementary and diverse content strengths with broad appeal — WarnerMedia’s robust studios and portfolio of iconic scripted entertainment, animation, news and sports with Discovery’s global leadership in unscripted and international entertainment and sports.
• Forming a new company that will have significant scale and investment resources with projected 2023 Revenue of approximately $52 billion, adjusted EBITDA of approximately $14 billion, and an industry leading Free Cash Flow conversion rate of approximately 60%. 
• Creating at least $3 billion in expected cost synergies annually for the new company to increase its investment in content and digital innovation, and to scale its global DTC business.

For AT&T and its shareholders, this transaction provides an opportunity to unlock value in its media assets and to better position the media business to take advantage of the attractive DTC trends in the industry. Additionally, the transaction allows the company to better capitalize on the longer-term demand for connectivity:

• AT&T shareholders participate in a leading media company with a broad global portfolio of brands, tremendous DTC potential and strengthened combined assets.
• Creates substantial value opportunity for AT&T shareholders through stepped-up investment in growth areas – mobile and fixed broadband.
• Capital structure improvement after closing will position AT&T as one of the best capitalized 5G and fiber broadband companies in the United States.
• Results in two independent companies – one broadband connectivity and the other media – to sharpen the investment focus and attract the best investor base for each company.

A Stronger Competitor in Global Streaming

The new company will compete globally in the fast-growing direct-to-consumer business -- bringing compelling content to DTC subscribers across its portfolio, including HBO Max and the recently launched discovery+.  The transaction will combine WarnerMedia’s storied content library of popular and valuable IP with Discovery’s global footprint, trove of local-language content and deep regional expertise across more than 200 countries and territories.  The new company will be able to invest in more original content for its streaming services, enhance the programming options across its global linear pay TV and broadcast channels, and offer more innovative video experiences and consumer choices.

Uniting Dynamic, Enduring and Historic Brands and Franchises

The “pure play” content company will own one of the deepest libraries in the world with nearly 200,000 hours of iconic programming and will bring together over 100 of the most cherished, popular and trusted brands in the world under one global portfolio, including: HBO, Warner Bros., Discovery, DC Comics, CNN, Cartoon Network, HGTV, Food Network, the Turner Networks, TNT, TBS, Eurosport, Magnolia, TLC, Animal Planet, ID and many more.

The new company will be able to increase investment and capabilities in original content and programming; create more opportunity for under-represented storytellers and independent creators; serve customers with innovative video experiences and points of engagement; and propel more investment in high-quality, family-friendly nonfiction content.

Leadership, Governance and Structure

The companies announced that Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav will lead the proposed new company with a best-in-class management team and top operational and creative leadership from both companies. 

Discovery’s current multiple classes of shares will be consolidated to a single class with one vote per share.

The new company’s Board of Directors will consist of 13 members, 7 initially appointed by AT&T, including the chairperson of the board; Discovery will initially appoint 6 members, including CEO David Zaslav.

Executive Commentary

John Stankey Said:

“This agreement unites two entertainment leaders with complementary content strengths and positions the new company to be one of the leading global direct-to-consumer streaming platforms. It will support the fantastic growth and international launch of HBO Max with Discovery’s global footprint and create efficiencies which can be re-invested in producing more great content to give consumers what they want. For AT&T shareholders, this is an opportunity to unlock value and be one of the best capitalized broadband companies, focused on investing in 5G and fiber to meet substantial, long-term demand for connectivity. AT&T shareholders will retain their stake in our leading communications company that comes with an attractive dividend. Plus, they will get a stake in the new company, a global media leader that can build one of the top streaming platforms in the world.”

David Zaslav Said:

"During my many conversations with John, we always come back to the same simple and powerful strategic principle:  these assets are better and more valuable together.  It is super exciting to combine such historic brands, world class journalism and iconic franchises under one roof and unlock so much value and opportunity.  With a library of cherished IP, dynamite management teams and global expertise in every market in the world, we believe everyone wins...consumers with more diverse choices, talent and storytellers with more resources and compelling pathways to larger audiences, and shareholders with a globally scaled growth company committed to a strong balance sheet that is better positioned to compete with the world’s largest streamers.  We will build a new chapter together with the creative and talented WarnerMedia team and these incredible assets built on a nearly 100-year legacy of the most wonderful storytelling in the world.  That will be our singular mission: to focus on telling the most amazing stories and have a ton of fun doing it.”

Transaction Highlights

The combination will be executed through a Reverse Morris Trust, under which WarnerMedia will be spun or split off to AT&T’s shareholders via dividend or through an exchange offer or a combination of both and simultaneously combined with Discovery. The transaction is expected to be tax-free to AT&T and AT&T’s shareholders.

In connection with the spin-off or split-off of WarnerMedia, AT&T will receive $43 billion (subject to adjustment) in a combination of cash, debt securities and WarnerMedia’s retention of certain debt.  The new company expects to maintain investment grade rating and utilize the significant cash flow of the combined company to rapidly de-lever to approximately 3.0x within 24 months, and to target a new, longer term gross leverage target of 2.5x-3.0x. WarnerMedia has secured fully committed financing from JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and affiliates of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC for the purposes of funding the distribution.

The transaction is anticipated to close in mid-2022, subject to approval by Discovery shareholders and customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals. No vote is required by AT&T shareholders.  Agreements are in place with Dr. John Malone and Advance to vote in favor of the transaction.

AT&T Preliminary Financial Profile Following Completion of the Transaction; Focused Total Return Strategy for Capital Allocation; After Close, Dividend Payout Ratio1 Expected to be Low 40s%.

After close and on a pro-forma basis, AT&T expects its remaining assets to produce the following financial trajectory from 2022 to 2024:

• Annual revenue growth: low single digits CAGR2
• Annual adjusted EBITDA3 and adjusted EPS4 growth: mid-single digits CAGR
• Significantly increased financial flexibility to drive returns to shareholders, including:
  • Expected increased capital investment for incremental investments in 5G and fiber broadband.  The company expects annual capital expenditures of around $24 billion once the transaction closes.  AT&T expects its 5G C-band network will cover 200 million people in the U.S. by year-end 2023. And the company plans to expand its fiber footprint to cover 30 million customer locations by year-end 2025.
  • Significant debt reduction: Expect Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA5 in the 2.6x range after transaction closes and less than 2.5x by year end 2023.
  • Attractive dividend – resized to account for the distribution of WarnerMedia to AT&T shareholders. After close and subject to AT&T Board approval, AT&T expects an annual dividend payout ratio of 40% to 43% on anticipated free cash flow1 of $20 billion plus.
  • The optionality to repurchase shares once Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA is less than 2.5x.

Advisors

LionTree LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as financial advisors and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP served as legal advisor to AT&T.

Allen & Company LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as financial advisors and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP served as legal advisor to Discovery. Peralla Weinberg Partners and Wachtell Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as advisors to the Independent Directors of Discovery.

RBC Capital Markets served as financial advisors and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal advisors to Advance.

Media Availability and Investor Call

AT&T and Discovery will hold a joint press conference at 7:30am EDT, and a separate call with investors will begin at 8:30am EDT today. The webcast of the call and related materials will be available on AT&T’s and Discovery’s Investor Relations websites at https://investors.att.com/ and https://ir.corporate.discovery.com/investor-relations.

Join the 7:30am EDT press conference with John Stankey and David Zaslav on Zoom by clicking here. Your camera will be disabled and microphones will be automatically muted. To ask a question, please select the "raise hand icon." When you are called on, you will receive a prompt asking you to unmute your microphone. The Zoom Webinar ID is 985 9072 9554; the passcode is 866906.

1. Dividend payout ratio is total dividends paid divided by free cash flow.  Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure that is frequently used by investors and credit rating agencies to provide relevant and useful information. Free cash flow is cash from operating activities minus capital expenditures.  Due to high variability and difficulty in predicting items that impact cash from operating activities and capital expenditures, the company is not able to provide a reconciliation between projected free cash flow and the most comparable GAAP metric without unreasonable effort.

2. Compound annual growth rate.

3. EBITDA is operating income before depreciation and amortization.

4. The company (AT&T) expects adjustments to 2021-2024 reported diluted EPS to include merger-related amortization ($4.3 billion for 2021 and approximately $1 billion per quarter in 2022 until closing of the transaction) and other adjustments, a non-cash mark-to-market benefit plan gain/loss, and other items. The company expects the mark-to-market adjustment, which is driven by interest rates and investment returns that are not reasonably estimable at this time, to be a significant item. AT&T’s 2021 EPS depends on future levels of revenues and expenses which are not reasonably estimable at this time. Accordingly, we cannot provide a reconciliation between these projected non-GAAP metrics and the reported GAAP metrics without unreasonable effort.

5. Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratios are non-GAAP financial measures that are frequently used by investors and credit rating agencies to provide relevant and useful information. AT&T’s Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio is calculated by dividing the Net Debt by the sum of the most recent four quarters Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA estimates depend on future levels of revenues and expenses which are not reasonably estimable at this time. Accordingly, we cannot provide a reconciliation between Adjusted EBITDA and the most comparable GAAP metric without unreasonable effort.

Trump proíbe TikTok nos EUA a partir de domingo (20)

Da redação

18/09/20 - 10h45

O governo dos Estados Unidos anunciou que vai banir no domingo (20) os downloads do TikTok e do WeChat no país. A ordem foi emitida nesta sexta-feira (18) pelo Departamento de Comércio e impede que os aplicativos sejam baixados nas lojas da Apple e do Google.

Por ora isso não significa que os aplicativos desaparecerão dos celulares dos norte-americanos, mas a ordem indica que eles deixarão de existir nas lojas de downloads e que não receberão mais atualizações.

+ Trump diz que governo conversou com Walmart e Oracle sobre TikTok
+ Guerra contra o TikTok frustra ambições tecnológicas chinesas
+ YouTube lança ‘Shorts’ e vai disputar mercado com TikTok

Segundo o Business Insider, a ordem pode ser removida até domingo, caso a TikTok aceite fechar negócio com uma empresa de tecnologia dos Estados Unidos. Na segunda-feira (14) a Oracle havia anunciado um acordo de cooperação com o app chinês, mas a proposta não foi suficiente para acalmar o governo Donald Trump.

“As ações de hoje provam mais uma vez que o presidente Trump fará tudo ao seu alcance para garantir nossa segurança nacional e proteger os americanos das ameaças do Partido Comunista Chinês”, disse em comunicado o secretário do Departamento de Comércio dos EUA, Wilbur Ross.

+ Elon Musk ultrapassa Mark Zuckerberg e entra para top 3 bilionários

São mais de 80 milhões de usuários do TikTok nos EUA e cerca de 1 bilhão em todo o mundo. Agora, todos estão reféns da guerra ideológica envolvendo Trump e o governo chinês, que é acusado de roubar dados dos usuários do aplicativo.

Entenda por que a estreia de 'Mulan' no streaming pode arrasar as salas de cinema

 

Filme é projeto piloto em série de medidas que parecem emergenciais, mas que talvez resistam à Covid-19

Leonardo Sanchez (https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/autores/leonardo-sanchez.shtml)

Desde a eclosão da atual pandemia de coronavírus, o mundo cinematográfico foi

chacoalhado não só pelos impactos econômicos da doença, mas também por uma série de

adaptações e anúncios que parecem medidas de exceção, mas que podem apontar para

transformações profundas na maneira como consumimos filmes.

Blockbusters indo direto para o streaming, filmes nacionais feitos com dinheiro público pulando as

telonas e encurtamento das janelas de exibição, isto é, o intervalo entre a estreia de um filme no

cinema (https://guia.folha.uol.com.br/cinema/2020/02/confira-a-avaliacao-do-guia-da-folha-para-todas-as-salas-de-cinema-de-sao-paulo.shtml) e sua ida para outras plataformas. Essas são questões que estão no dia a dia do setor desde o primeiro semestre.

Adotadas como formas de burlar as restrições da Covid-19

(https://aovivo.folha.uol.com.br/equilibrioesaude/2020/08/24/5927-acompanhe-todas-as-informacoes-sobre-a-pandemia-de-coronavirus.shtml), elas tocam em pontos sensíveis da relação entre produtoras, distribuidoras e exibidores. O trio vive um casamento conturbado e de difícil equilíbrio, e o desgaste só foi ampliado nos últimos meses.

Essa crise matrimonial deve se agravar ainda mais em setembro, quando a versão live-action do

clássico animado “Mulan” estreia direto no streaming em diversos territórios importantes

(https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrada/2020/08/disney-decide-lancar-mulan-direto-no-streaming-mas-cobrando-taxa-de-assinantes.shtml), como o americano —ainda não há notícias sobre a estreia no Brasil.

A releitura da animação de 1998, graças à popularidade de sua heroína e ao gordo orçamento, era

uma das grandes apostas do ano para as bilheterias. Com o adiamento de sua estreia no início da

pandemia, se tornou uma das esperanças para encabeçar a eventual reabertura dos cinemas, ao

lado de "Tenet" e "Os Novos Mutantes", que recentemente chegaram a vários territórios —o

segundo já desapontou nas bilheterias americanas.

Mas a Disney pegou todos de surpresa com o anúncio de que "Mulan" iria direto para seu

streaming, o Disney+, em vários lugares. Agora, quem é da indústria aguarda para saber quais serão os resultados —o público estará disposto a pagar um valor extra de US$ 30, ou cerca de R$ 170,

além da assinatura do serviço, para ver o longa ou ele não será capaz de faturar o mesmo que pelas

bilheterias tradicionais?

“Essa é uma aposta que parece democrática, mas não é”, diz Lia Bahia, professora de cinema da

Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing. “O serviço deles não está em todos os territórios e o

aluguel desse filme é caro. Mas é um projeto piloto que, se der certo, pode abrir uma porta.”

Isso porque o eventual sucesso de “Mulan” no streaming teria praticamente todos os seus lucros

concentrados nas mãos da Disney. Não haveria porcentagem para o parque exibidor, por exemplo.

Segundo Daniel Queiroz, da distribuidora Embaúba Filmes, estamos colhendo, atualmente, os

frutos de um mercado que caminha há anos para uma monopolização.

“Os estúdios, além de lançarem filmes direto no streaming, estão criando suas próprias

plataformas, como é o caso da Disney. Então nós temos a Disney explorando seu filme diretamente

desde a produção até a outra ponta”, diz.

Ainda segundo ele e Bahia, a professora, o que vemos hoje no mercado não são transformações

causadas só pela pandemia, mas uma aceleração de mudanças que já estavam em curso ou no

radar (https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrada/2020/04/coronavirus-e-so-o-agravamento-de-uma-crise-que-ja-vem-afetando-os-cinemas-hatempos.shtml).

Prova disso é que essa equação ficou ainda mais complexa com uma decisão judicial que independe

do coronavírus. Um juiz federal dos Estados Unidos anulou, no mês passado, uma histórica lei

antitruste que vigorava desde os anos 1940 e que proibia que estúdios de Hollywood tivessem seus

próprios cinemas, para que não controlassem completamente tanto a produção quanto a

distribuição de seus filmes. Soa familiar?

“Com o fim da lei, os estúdios podem ter salas. Se isso começar, vai ser uma loucura”, diz Bahia.

“Dito isso, eu acho que as salas de cinema não vão acabar, mas talvez haja um enfraquecimento.

Talvez as janelas se encurtem ainda mais, talvez haja uma elitização, mas o cinema ainda é um

termômetro importante.”

Ela alerta ainda para o fato de que a Disney, dona de marcas como Pixar, Marvel e Star Wars, se

tornou um megaestúdio depois da compra da Fox, outra peça importante no tabuleiro de

Hollywood —“existem eles e os outros”.

O encurtamento das janelas lembrado pela professora é outro ponto sensível e que causa polêmica

na pandemia. Em julho, a Universal e a rede americana AMC anunciaram que o intervalo para que

um filme chegasse ao streaming após o lançamento em cinemas cairia de 75 para 17 dias

(https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrada/2020/07/rede-de-cinemas-e-universal-encurtam-intervalo-para-exibicao-de-filmes-online.shtml).

A decisão parece uma medida emergencial diante do fechamento de salas mundo afora, mas pode

sobreviver como herança do coronavírus.

“A gente já via um aumento da importância do streaming. Agora temos uma aceleração disso”,

afirma Queiroz. “Mas a gente trata o cinema como uma coisa só, enquanto, na verdade, há dois

tipos de cinema bem diferentes, o comercial, com Hollywood à frente, e a produção independente.”

Segundo o distribuidor, é especialmente esse segundo segmento que tende a sofrer mais com as

transformações. Ele dá como exemplo “Arábia” (https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrada/2017/10/1928394-mineiro-arabiacompoe-

o-melhor-do-cinema-brasileiro-recente.shtml), considerado um lançamento grande para os padrões de seu selo, com 12 mil espectadores nas salas de cinema, apesar de ser uma produção independente.

Ao lançar o filme no streaming, suas expectativas de repetir o sucesso foram frustradas, assim

como é frequente com outros longas nacionais.

Lia Bahia reitera as especificidades do cinema nacional, destacando que pequenos e médios

exibidores, com quem ficam obras como “Arábia”, tendem a ser mais afetados pelo cenário que se

desenha.

“Quem vai ver um filme pequenininho que vai diretamente para o streaming? Não sei se essa lógica

de lançamento é boa por aqui. Uma coisa importante a dizer é que nós precisamos, mais do que

nunca, de políticas públicas para a sobrevivência do cinema nacional, mas elas também precisam

ser atualizadas, considerando esse deslizamento de hierarquias nas janelas”, diz.

“A questão é que sempre houve mudanças. Talvez essa seja mais radical, ou então a primeira

grande mudança que a nossa geração vê, mas o cinema sempre está em mudança, e agora nós

precisamos entender a atual."

MUDANÇAS DURANTE A PANDEMIA

Janela

A Universal e a AMC diminuíram o intervalo entre a estreia de um filme no cinema e sua ida para o

streaming de 75 para 17 dias 

Brasil

A Ancine tem avaliado pedidos de lançamento diretamente no streaming

(https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/colunas/monicabergamo/2020/07/ancine-podera-autorizar-estreias-direto-no-streaming-de-filmes-adiados-pelapandemia.shtml) de filmes feitos com recursos públicos

Streaming

Estúdios desistiram de esperar o fim da pandemia e estrearam blockbusters no streaming

Sua assinatura vale muito

Mais de 180 reportagens e análises publicadas a cada dia. Um time com mais de 120 colunistas. Um

jornalismo profissional que fiscaliza o poder público, veicula notícias proveitosas e inspiradoras,

faz contraponto à intolerância das redes sociais e traça uma linha clara entre verdade e mentira.

ENDEREÇO DA PÁGINA

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrada/2020/09/entenda-por-que-a-estreia-de-mulan-nostreaming-

pode-arrasar-as-salas-de-cinema.shtml

Para compartilhar esse conteúdo, por favor utilize o link https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrada/2020/09/entenda-por-que-a-estreia-de-mulan-no-streaming-pode-arrasar-as-salas-de-cinema.shtml?origin=folha&utm_source=meio&utm_medium=email ou as ferramentas oferecidas na página. Textos, fotos, artes e vídeos da Folha estão protegidos pela legislação brasileira sobre direito autoral. Não reproduza o conteúdo do jornal em qualquer meio de comunicação, eletrônico ou impresso, sem autorização da Folhapress (pesquisa@folhapress.com.br). As regras têm como objetivo proteger o investimento que a Folha faz na qualidade de seu jornalismo. Se precisa copiar trecho de texto da Folha para uso privado, por favor logue-se como assinante ou cadastrado.

Stop Hate for Profit

On June 17th, we asked companies to act against hate and disinformation being spread by Facebook in our campaign, Stop Hate for Profit. We asked businesses to temporarily pause advertising on Facebook and Instagram in order to force Mark Zuckerberg to address the effect that Facebook has had on our society.  

 

While addressing all of Facebook’s issues and implementing all of our recommendations will take far longer than one month, we wanted to provide clear steps that Facebook could take immediately that would result in real progress. None of these ideas are new, and we hope that Facebook is able to agree and implement the following over the next month: 

 

Accountability

 

1. Establish and empower permanent civil rights infrastructure including C-suite level executive with civil rights expertise to evaluate products and policies for discrimination, bias, and hate. This person would make sure that the design and decisions of this platform considered the impact on all communities and the potential for radicalization and hate.

 

2. Submit to regular, third party, independent audits of identity-based hate and misinformation with summary results published on a publicly accessible website. We simply can no longer trust Facebook’s own claims on what they are or are not doing. A “transparency report” is only as good as its author is independent.

 

3. Provide audit of and refund to advertisers whose ads were shown next to content that was later removed for violations of terms of service. We have documented many examples of companies’ advertisements running alongside the horrible content that Facebook permits. That is not what most advertisers pay for, and they shouldn’t have to.

 

Decency

 

4. Find and remove public and private groups focused on white supremacy, militia, antisemitism, violent conspiracies, Holocaust denialism, vaccine misinformation, and climate denialism. 

 

5. Adopting common-sense changes to their policies that will help stem radicalization and hate on the platform.

 

6. Stop recommending or otherwise amplifying groups or content from groups associated with hate, misinformation or conspiracies to users. 

 

7. Create an internal mechanism to automatically flag hateful content in private groups for human review. Private groups are not small gatherings of friends - but can be hundreds of thousands of people large, which many hateful groups are.

 

8. Ensure accuracy in political and voting matters by eliminating the politician exemption; removing misinformation related to voting; and prohibiting calls to violence by politicians in any format. Given the importance of political and voting matters for society, Facebook’s carving out an exception in this area is especially dangerous.

 

Support

 

9. Create expert teams to review submissions of identity-based hate and harassment. Forty two percent of daily users of Facebook have experienced harassment on the platform, and much of this harassment is based on the individual’s identity. Facebook needs to ensure that their teams understand the different types of harassment faced by different groups in order to adjudicate claims.

 

10. Enable individuals facing severe hate and harassment to connect with a live Facebook employee. In no other sector does a company not have a way for victims of their product to seek help.

 

The above are not sufficient, but they are a start. Facebook is a company of incredible resources. We hope that they finally understand that society wants them to put more of those resources into doing the hard work of transforming the potential of the largest communication platform in human history into a force for good.