Patagonia Cuts Adverts On Facebook As Part Of ‘Stop Hate For Profit’ Boycott
By Thanussha Priyah, 24 Jun 2020
Image via Roman Tiraspolsky / Shutterstock.com
Outdoor apparel brand Patagonia will stop advertising on Facebook as part of the #StopHateForProfit boycott backed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
The company announced that it will be adhering to the boycott by halting advertisements on Facebook, as well as Facebook-owned Instagram, as anti-racism protests are taking place across the nation.
The move hopes to bring a change to the platform’s heavily-criticized manner of handling hate speech on its feed. Previously, Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout after CEO Mark Zuckerberg refused to flag or hide Donald Trump’s posts threatening violence.
The clothing company will pull its advertising “at least through the end of July, pending meaningful action from the social media giant,” according to the company’s head of marketing Cory Bayers.
The company released a string of tweets explaining its decision. One of the posts states that earning profits from Facebook advertising “will never be worth promoting hate, bigotry, racism, anti-Semitism and violence," before adding that the brand is hoping that “Americans have access to free and fair elections this fall.”
“We can’t stand by and contribute resources to companies that contribute to the problem,” Patagonia asserted.
Along with Patagonia, both The North Face and REI have hopped on board to stop buying adverts from Facebook so as to promote a “people over profits” sentiment, per AdAge.
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
As companies across the country work hard to ensure that Americans have access to free and fair elections this fall, we can’t stand by and contribute resources to companies that contribute to the problem.
— Patagonia (@patagonia) June 21, 2020
We stand with #StopHateforProfit in saying Facebook’s ‘profits will never be worth promoting hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism, and violence. - Cory Bayers, Head of Marketing, Patagonia
— Patagonia (@patagonia) June 21, 2020
For 82 years, we have put people over profits. We're pulling all Facebook/Instagram advertising for the month of July. #StopHateForProfit
— REI (@REI) June 19, 2020
Learn more: https://t.co/XCQSnUO8XJ https://t.co/Jp1GaKdCUN
[via PAPER Magazine, cover image via Roman Tiraspolsky / Shutterstock.com]