Starbucks to Pause Paid Ads Across Social Media

FILE PHOTO: A waitress prepares a beverage at a branch of Starbucks coffee in Tokyo, Japan, August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A waitress prepares a beverage at a branch of Starbucks coffee in Tokyo, Japan, August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
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Starbucks to Pause Paid Ads Across Social Media

FILE PHOTO: A waitress prepares a beverage at a branch of Starbucks coffee in Tokyo, Japan, August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A waitress prepares a beverage at a branch of Starbucks coffee in Tokyo, Japan, August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

Starbucks Corp will pause advertising on all social media platforms as it explores the best ways to help stop the spread of hate speech, the company said in a statement on Sunday.

The company will "have discussions internally and with media partners and civil rights organizations to stop the spread of hate speech," the statement said.

A CNBC report on Sunday added that this social media pause by Starbucks will not include YouTube, which is owned by Alphabet Inc's Google. It will continue to post on social media without paid promotion.

It also said that though Starbucks is pausing advertising, it is not joining the "Stop Hate For Profit" boycott campaign, which kicked off earlier this month.

More than 160 companies, including Verizon Communications and Unilever Plc, signed on to stop buying ads on Facebook Inc, the world's largest social media platform.



Hundreds Evacuated as Greece Wildfire Rages on Crete

Firefighters stand next to rising flames as a wildfire burns near Ierapetra, on the island of Crete, Greece, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis
Firefighters stand next to rising flames as a wildfire burns near Ierapetra, on the island of Crete, Greece, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis
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Hundreds Evacuated as Greece Wildfire Rages on Crete

Firefighters stand next to rising flames as a wildfire burns near Ierapetra, on the island of Crete, Greece, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis
Firefighters stand next to rising flames as a wildfire burns near Ierapetra, on the island of Crete, Greece, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis

A wildfire fanned by gale-force winds on the southern Greek island of Crete has forced the evacuation of locals and tourists, officials said on Thursday.

Greece is sweltering in a heatwave that is searing much of southern Europe, said AFP.

The country has become particularly vulnerable in recent years to summer wildfires, which are fueled by strong winds, drought and high temperatures linked to climate change.

Local media said around 1,500 people had to be evacuated because of the blaze, which broke out on Wednesday evening.

"Evacuations took place in numerous hotels and tourists were safely transferred to a closed gymnasium in the municipality of Ierapetra," vice-prefect Yannis Androulakis told TV channel Mega, referring to the holiday town in the southeast.

He said the authorities acted because water bomber planes could not reach the affected areas overnight.

"At the moment, there are three active fronts," Androulakis said. "Because of the strong winds, the fire has progressed quite rapidly."

Around 270 firefighters, 10 helicopters and drones have been deployed to tackle the blaze, said Vassilios Vathrakoyannis, a spokesman for the fire service.

They include reinforcements sent in from the capital, Athens.

"There are still a number of different fronts. The fire is burning scrubland and crops," he said.

"The winds are very strong -- up to nine on the Beaufort scale."

- Uneven, arid terrain -

Crete, Greece's largest island, has an arid, uneven landscape criss-crossed by gullies, making it difficult for firefighters to tackle the blaze.

The fire has damaged both houses and crops in fruit and vegetable greenhouses, local media said.

Like the rest of Crete, Ierapetra –- a seaside resort with a population of 23,000 -- takes in thousands of tourists in the summer.

Vathrakoyannis said the authorities would assess the extent of the damage once the fire had been brought under control.

He stressed the risk of fires was "considerable" in July, the hottest month of the year in Greece.

Until now, Greece had been more or less spared the heatwave that has gripped other parts of southern Europe.

The country recorded its hottest ever summer last year when 45,000 hectares were torched, according to WWF Greece and the Athens National Observatory.

In terms of surface area destroyed, 2023 was the worst on record.

Nearly 175,000 hectares were obliterated and 20 people died during a series of prolonged heatwaves when temperatures rose in places to 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit).