Tech

Chobani, Pfizer and SAP join running list of companies pulling Facebook ads

Key Points
  • Companies are continuing to sign onto a Facebook advertising boycott. 
  • Chobani, Pfizer and SAP are among the latest.

In this article

Big players join Facebook ad boycotts—Here's what it means for the company's bottom line
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Big players join Facebook ad boycotts—Here's what it means for the company's bottom line

Advertisers continued to join the "StopHateforProfit" campaign this week by vowing to stop spending money on Facebook ads in July to pressure the company to better prevent the spread of hate speech and misinformation. 

The boycott comes after a group of organizations, the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Sleeping Giants, Color of Change, Free Press and Common Sense, accused Facebook earlier this month of allowing "racist, violent and verifiably false content to run rampant on its platform." The groups called on companies to pull their ad dollars from the platform for the month of July.

So far, more than 240 organizations or companies have joined the campaign, or have pulled spending on multiple social media sites including Twitter and Google-owned YouTube, even if they haven't officially joined the boycott, according to a running list from Sleeping Giants, an ad activist spending group.

Here's a rundown of companies that recently announced they were suspending advertising.

  • Chobani announced it would pause all paid social advertising throughout July.
  • KIND Snacks will pause its Facebook and Instagram ads for the month of July. Executive Chairman Daniel Lubetzky said in a statement that if Facebook "doesn't take visible, measurable and assertive efforts to effectively prevent the promotion of hate, division, defamation and misinformation" by the end of the year, it will consider suspending its Facebook spend indefinitely. 
  • Clothing retailer Madewell said it won't run Facebook and Instagram advertising through the month of July in support of the campaign. 
  • Food company Mars said in a statement it will "pause paid advertising globally across news feed based social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat." The company said it is asking platforms for progress in certain areas, like controlling the placement of ads near sensitive or inappropriate content.
  • Molson Coors' chief marketing officer Michelle St Jacques sent an email to employees saying the company is "choosing to pause Facebook, Instagram and Twitter while we revisit our own advertising standards to create better guardrails to protect our brands and address the spread of hate speech." This will be effective first in the U.S. then globally "shortly thereafter." 
  • Pfizer said it will be removing all of its advertising from Facebook and Instagram for the month of July. "Today, we are asking Facebook to take proactive steps to ensure their platforms are safe and trusted spaces for all," the company said. 
  • Software giant SAP said will not run paid advertisements on Facebook and Instagram "until the company signals a significant, action-driven commitment to combating the spread of hate speech and racism on its platforms."
  • Popular shoemaker Vans, owned by VF, said it won't spend on Facebook and Instagram ads in July. Vans said it will use the money normally allocated for those ads to support Black communities through education and empowerment programs and expand its support of racial equality and access initiatives. 
  • Vertex Pharma, a leading drugmaker for cystic fibrosis treatment, said it will stop running advertisements on Facebook and Instagram "to encourage Facebook, Inc. to take real action against the spread of hate and misinformation on their platforms."
  • German automaker Volkswagen is suspending national Facebook and Instagram ads throughout July. A company spokesman said the company will "assess their fit as relevant platforms for our brand communications."
  • Wingstop, via a spokeswoman, said it will not run Facebook or Instagram ads in July, nor will it run ads through the Facebook Audience Network.

Please check back for updates. 

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