With all the Trump pandering will arts audiences abandon Facebook and Instagram?

Meta’s changes to fact-checking and hate speech could get enough users offside that they go elsewhere? If that happens, how will arts brands respond?

≈ 2,100 words ⌇ Estimated reading time: 14 minutes

We’re 10 days out from the inauguration of Donald Trump and a precession of tech and media company CEOs have been making their way to Mar-a-Lago to metaphorically swear fealty to the President-elect, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. More alarmingly, Zuckerberg and the company have made a range of changes that are designed to make it more ‘Republican friendly’ and will likely result in more problematic content on its platforms.

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What has Meta done?

In a video and through a written statement, Meta made a number of announcements related to content and content moderation on its platforms. In summary, the announced changes to Meta’s practices are:

• ending fact-checking on its platforms, starting in the United States,
• moving to a Community Notes approach to adding additional context to problematic content (similar to what X (formerly Twitter) uses since Elon Musk took it over),
• revisions to Meta’s Hateful Conduct policy to “allow more speech by lifting restrictions on some topics that are part of mainstream discourse”,
• limiting automated content filtering only to “illegal and high-severity violations, like terrorism, child sexual exploitation, drugs, fraud and scams”,

• only actioning “less severe policy violations” if a user reports an issue,

• relocating the company’s content moderation teams from California to Texas and other US locations,
• increasing content moderation teams to reduce the time content appeals take,
• requiring multiple reviewers to reach a determination before content is taken down, and
• increasing the volume of civic content – “posts about elections, politics or social issues” – users see on the platforms, with mechanisms for users to control how much political content gets into their feed.

In the announcement Meta’s newly appointed Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan, states that content moderation on Meta’s platforms came about “partly in response to societal and political pressure to moderate content” ⟨ Of course there is huge irony in the fact that these changes have come about in response to conservative criticisms of content moderation! ⟩ The statement also claims that the complex systems Meta uses to manage content on its platforms have “gone too far”, “making too many mistakes, frustrating [its] users and too often getting in the way of the free expression [Facebook and Meta’s other platforms] set out to enable”. The stated objective is to “undo the mission creep that has made [Meta’s] rules too restrictive and too prone to over-enforcement.”

Coupled with changes to content moderation, Zuckerberg and Kaplan both referred to changes to content rules to “allow more speech by lifting restrictions on some topics that are part of mainstream discourse.” The same day Meta revised its Hateful Conduct policy, making many changes that are likely to embolden some users to express harmful views. As GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said: 

“Zuckerberg’s removal of fact-checking programs and industry-standard hate speech policies make Meta’s platforms unsafe places for users and advertisers alike. Without these necessary hate speech and other policies, Meta is giving the green light for people to target LGBTQ people, women, immigrants, and other marginalized groups with violence, vitriol, and dehumanizing narratives. With these changes, Meta is continuing to normalize anti-LGBTQ hatred for profit — at the expense of its users and true freedom of expression. Fact-checking and hate speech policies protect free speech.”

The way the Hateful Conduct policy now reads is convoluted and contradictory. To illustrate, take the stated policy rationale which reads: “We believe that people use their voice and connect more freely when they don’t feel attacked on the basis of who they are. That is why we don’t allow hateful conduct on Facebook, Instagram or Threads.” This is quickly caveated with paradoxical statements that permit contravening content. To illustrate, the policy states that content insulting a person or group of people by alleging mental illness on the basis of their protected characteristic or characteristics is not permitted. Protected characteristics can be “race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity and serious disease,” as well as age (when referenced with another protected characteristic), and refugee, migrant, immigrant and asylum seeker status. However, this prohibition is immediately followed by the statement, “We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words such as “weird”.

I recommend GLAAD’s statement for a detailed look at the changes to the Hateful Content policy.

Beyond these announcements, last week Meta made personnel changes in preparation for Trump’s second term. Kaplan, a Republican and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy under George W. Bush, replaced former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Liberal Democrats politician Nick Clegg, and former Republican-appointed Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin replaced Kaplan as Vice President of Global Policy. On Monday this week the company also appointed Dana White to its Board. White is the CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and a well-known Trump ally. The company also broke with earlier practice and made a $1 million donation to Trump’s inauguration fund. Similar donations were made by other tech companies such as Amazon, Google, Microsft, OpenAI and Uber.

Since the announcement, the company also issued an internal memo stating it would terminate a number of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, effective immediately. The memo cites changes in the “legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States.” Amazon and other US companies such as McDonald’s and Walmart have done similar.

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Will arts audiences abandon Meta’s platforms?

Zuckerberg may think the decisions will not alienate users but it looks like users are starting to reconsider their use of the Meta platforms.

“…Google searches related to closing Facebook, Instagram and Threads accounts have seen a 5,000% increase…”

TechCrunch reports that Google searches related to closing Facebook, Instagram and Threads accounts have seen a 5,000% increase since the fact-checking announcement was made. Also up are searches for alternatives to the Meta platforms.

Zuckerberg went further, categorising quitting users of the platforms as “virtue signaling” but I don’t think that is how most users will see their decision. What is more likely is that users just don’t want to be exposed to hateful vitriol. With that, if we do see a mass exodus from Facebook, Instagram and Threads, this will have a detrimental impact on the marketing programs of many arts brands. Arts marketers (and in fact lots of marketers in other industries) have become very reliant on Meta’s platforms for promotion and engagement but will need to start thinking about their post-Meta approach if their audiences leave these mainstream social media platforms as a result of these changes.

Arts organisations are often focused on diversity, inclusivity and community building and do well in environments where respectful dialogue and factual information are prioritised. Meta’s new approach risks creating a space where misinformation flourishes and harmful rhetoric goes unchecked. Arts brands that opt to maintain their prescence on Facebook, Instagram and Threads will need to think carefully about whether this shift on fact-checking and the softening of hate speech rules aligns with their organisational values. There may be real brand damage with arts-interested audiences if they stay.

“…an increase in hateful content and misinformation on the Meta platforms may adversely affect artists, arts organisations and arts funding agencies…”

There is also a risk that an increase in hateful content and misinformation on the Meta platforms may adversely affect artists, arts organisations and arts funding agencies, as well as broader cross-sectoral messaging about the value of the arts. Right-wing sensationalist attacks on arts funding and organisations already exist but may increase in propensity, especially where that content is intentionally politically charged because the content poster does not agree with its subject-matter and/or the identity of the artists involved.

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What can arts brands do?

It may seem like arts marketers are ‘up shit creek without a paddle’ but there are a number of things arts bands can consider doing in response:

• Go where their audiences is going – Monitor where your audiences are going to find out about arts experiences. If you aren’t sure, ask them! Are your arts audiences moving to social media alternatives such as Mastodon or Bluesky? Are they looking to arts news websites? This could be broad arts media outlets like ArtsHub and Limelight or artform specific outlets such as dance magazines and visual arts journals. If they are going to Google could SEO (search engine optimisation) or SEA (search engine advertising) help them find out about your offers? Plus, there are lots of listings websites you can add your events to for free.
• Rethink their websites – It may feel a bit 90s and early 2000s, but perhaps it is time to reframe your organisational website as a central hub in your marketing program. Take a good look at your current website; there is a good chance it is purely informational content. What would be needed to introduce more engaging content that rewards repeat visitation? We are a sector of storytellers – show it through more dynamic content such a behind the scenes video, Q&As with artistic talent and key staff or targeted landing pages that bundle together lots of content on an arts product.
• Level up their email marketing – Focus on growing your email subscriber base by proactively getting sign ups. You could incentivise signing up with promises of discount codes, competitions and exclusive content. Is an option to subscribe built into the ticketing journey (making sure you comply with the Spam Act and the Privacy Act, of course!) Are you suggesting signing up in post-event communications? Then, as your list grows, segment it well so you can send targeted emails that give different subscribers the information they want to receive in exciting ways.
• Work on WOM – Find ways to incentivise WOM (word-of-mouth) because recommendations from friends, family and colleagues are still a powerful way to motivate people to go to arts experiences. The foundation of positive WOM is an amazing experience so ensure what you are doing is quality, but also unique and memorable. Excellent customer service is also a must so explore ways to further enhance it. Quality customer service training can ensure FOH (front of house) and other staff are always friendly, courteous and helpful. And regular marketing briefings can make sure they are knowledgeable and able to easily deliver key marketing messages about new arts products. You could also consider introducing a referral program or loyalty perks.
• Don’t pooh-pooh print collateral – Posters and flyers in the local area can still be a helpful way to tell people about your arts offers, so don’t forget them. Can you distribute them to friendly local businesses, cafés, community centres or sporting facilities? What does it cost to have them letterbox dropped? How do you get them added to community notice boards? Lots of local governments run public notice boards, there is one at every Coles, Woolworths and IGA, and lots of shopping centres have them as well.
• Go pro with PR – When you are writing a media release be concise, informative, engaging, clearly articulate your key messages quickly and prioritise the information you are sharing using the inverted pyramid writing structure. Go beyond just sending cold emails with attached PDFs to info@ email addresses; invest time and effort in build your relationships with journalists, bloggers and content makers who cover the arts so you can direct pitch story and content ideas to them that align with their interests and coverage areas. When they do cover you, show them the relationship is reciprocal; share the story on your channels and email or call them to thank them for the coverage.
• Extend their cross-promotional reach – You are likely engaging in cross-promotion with other arts organisations already but take your cross-promo efforts further by reaching out to other local community organisations your audiences may be engaging with. This could be health services, social clubs, industry associations, chambers of commerce, parents groups and more. Ask them to share messages with their community, but also be willing to support them through cross-promotion.

Ideally, arts brands have been cultivating a diversified portfolio of marketing channels that allow them to speak to their audiences. If they haven’t been this might be the kick in the butt they need to start doing it.

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Concluding comments

We have experienced the impacts of not being able to rely on our Facebook Pages before – do you remember how many arts and community organisations were shut out during the Facebook news block? – but the sector didn’t learn from it. ⟨ After some discussion of this with colleagues I will pick this up as a separate blog post. ⟩ We should have been making our arts marketing more resilient then. Now we may not have a choice.

Whether you have been maintaining a range of marketing channels or you are about to start adding new ones to your marketing program, I hope arts marketers and their bosses are taking more notice of the fact that notions we hold dear – equity, inclusion, calling out social injustice, artistic freedom, social cohesion to name but a few – are not guaranteed on the platforms we align ourselves with. Trumpism is blurting out like a trumpet across the tech and media sectors and that will have repercussions for artists, arts organisations and arts audiences.

Disclosure

Conflict of interest

I am an arts marketing consultant.

I have written content for ArtsHub. I was not remunerated for that content.

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Credits

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Provenance

This blog post was produced by Elliott Bledsoe from Agentry, an arts marketing micro-consultancy. It was first published on 10 Jan 2025. It has been updated three times. This is version 1.2.1. Questions, comments and corrections are welcome – get in touch any time.

Changelog

v 1.2.1: Expanded on the marketing recommendations, added a conclusion, added more pull quotes, fixed typos and added an audio file of me reading the blog post – Tuesday 14 January 2025.

v 1.2: Added an update noting Meta’s announcement it would terminate a number of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives – Sunday 12 January 2025.

v 1.1: Added details of the contradictions in Meta’s Hateful Conduct policy – Saturday 11 January 2025.

v 1.0: First published – Saturday 10 January 2025.

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