Ask.fm, the website at the centre of bullying allegations, is facing a mass exodus of advertisers amid claims from one campaign group that the site has become “an ecosystem of hate” for some youngsters.
Save the Children, which claims it did not realise Ask.fm was included in its advertising schedule, has followed Vodafone, Specsavers and Laura Ashley in removing their ads from the site.
Earlier this morning Prime Minister David Cameron said parents needed to boycott “vile sites” after the father of cyber-bullying victim Hannah Smith called for more regulation of social networks on the Internet.
And campaign group BeatBullying has also called on Ask.fm users to ditch the site, urging brand owners to withdraw their support until safety concerns have been addressed.
The charity’s founder Emma-Jane Cross said the website had become an “ecosystem of hate” for some young people.
She added: “Ask.fm needs to take its users’ safety much more seriously, which includes putting adequate resources behind its safeguarding policies. For some young people, this site has become an ecosystem of hate and we must ensure that cases like Hannah’s can never happen again.
“Until this happens, we’re calling on the public, young people, parents and schools to boycott ask.fm. We’re also urging advertisers whose funding provides the lifeblood of the site to think very carefully about their advertising spend on this platform.”
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RT @DM_editor: Big brands pull ads from Ask.fm over child bullying claims http://t.co/65MOpMsoZ9 #directmarketing #digitalmarketing