The number of major brands joining the Facebook #StopHateForProfit boycott continues to grow with retailer Eileen Fisher and ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s pulling their advertising from the social media giant in protest of Facebook’s policy towards monitoring content.
The Stop Hate for Profit initiative is asking businesses to “stand in solidarity with our most deeply held American values of freedom, equality and justice and not advertise on Facebook’s services in July.”
The movement contends that Facebook allowed comments that incited violence against protesters following George Floyd’s death while in the custody of Minneapolis police.
The movement has seen brands such as Eddie Bauer, Patagonia, The North Face, REI, and Upwork pull their advertising from Facebook.
Ben & Jerry’s issued a statement saying: “Ben & Jerry’s stands with our friends at the NAACP and Color of Change, the ADL, and all those calling for Facebook to take stronger action to stop its platforms from being used to divide our nation, suppress voters, foment and fan the flames of racism and violence, and undermine our democracy. ”
The statement added: “We call on Facebook, Inc. to take the clear and unequivocal actions called for by the campaign to stop its platform from being used to spread and amplify racism and hate.”
“For too long, Facebook has failed to take sufficient steps to stop the spread of hateful lies and dangerous propaganda on its platform,” Patagonia wrote on Twitter.
For too long, Facebook has failed to take sufficient steps to stop the spread of hateful lies and dangerous propaganda on its platform.
— Patagonia (@patagonia) June 21, 2020
According to MSNBC, Procter & Gamble said that it has initiated a review of the places it advertises to ensure that, “the content on which we advertise accurately and respectfully portrays Black people — and all people for that matter.”
According to leaked audio of a call obtained by the Financial Times, Facebook’s head of trust and safety policy, said that the company is suffering from a “trust deficit”, but added that it was “here to listen” to its clients’ concerns.
While Facebook garnered nearly $70 billion in ad revenue in 2019 from advertisers, ad revenues are expected to see a drop in growth to just 4.9 percent in 2020, compared to 26.1 percent in 2019, according to an eMarketer forecast released Monday.
