Facebook has blocked all ads in Thailand in a show of respect for Thailand’s fallen leader, Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died Thursday at the age of 88.
Facebook boasts an estimated 37 million Thai users who tend to post three times more frequently than the average user worldwide, according to Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg. According to research firm Emarketer, the yearly amount spent on Facebook ad stands at $81.7 million
Facebook attempts to show tailored ads that fit country-specific cultural norms and adjust posts for different bandwidth speeds.
“The ability to tell a powerful story can connect people despite geographic, linguistic, technological and even cultural boundaries,” Melissa Oppenheim, who heads up the programme that handles such considerations, said in an interview.
In this particular case, Facebook’s heightened sensitivity toward its users’ various cultures means cutting off ads altogether.
However, Facebook’s cultural emphasis hasn’t always worked. In India, human rights advocates argued that its “safety check” feature, which lets users notify friends and family of their safety status in an event of a disaster was heavily biased toward western countries and didn’t cover most security events in non-western countries.
Courtesy: Mashable