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Ben & Jerry's, Patagonia, North Face among companies suspending ad buys on Facebook

#StopHateForProfit calls on social network to better police hate speech
Ben & Jerry's, Patagonia, North Face among companies suspending ad buys on Facebook
Posted at 2:37 PM, Jun 24, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-24 14:37:54-04

Several companies have announced that they will temporarily suspend advertisements on Facebook, joining a movement that claims the social network has been "promoting hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism and violence."

Ben & Jerry's, Pataognia, The North Face, REI and Upwork have all announced that they are joining the #StopHateForProfit movement and suspending ad buys on Facebook platforms.

#StopHateForProfit was launched earlier this month as a coalition between several civil rights groups, including the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The group's website accuses Facebook of a lack of transparency and failing to police hate speech on its platform.

Among the changes #StopHateForProfit proposes to Facebook are increased content monitoring and increased transparency regarding the reporting of hate speech and ad sales.

Several large companies have joined since the movement launched last week.

On Saturday, CNN reported that The North Face was the first major company to join the movement.

"We're in. We're Out @Facebook #StopHateForProfit," the company tweeted. They were followed quickly by outdoor retailer REI.

On Monday, outdoor apparel brand Patagonia followed in their footsteps, saying it would suspend all ad buys on Facebook and Instagram through the end of July" pending meaningful action from the social media giant."

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream — which has not been shy about the company's opposition to racism amid nationwide protests — joined the movement on Monday night.

"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," the company said in a statement to NBC News.