The North Face Joins Civil Rights Boycott Urging Brands To Pull Facebook Ads

The company's decision also extends to Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.
The North Face will join the #StopHateforProfit campaign organized by civil rights groups including the NAACP.
The North Face will join the #StopHateforProfit campaign organized by civil rights groups including the NAACP.
SOPA Images via Getty Images

Outdoor clothing company The North Face became the highest-profile brand to join the #StopHateforProfit movement, which encourages large advertisers to pull ads from Facebook in July.

The North Face announced its intention on Twitter Friday by retweeting the NAACP, which accuses Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, of being “no longer simply negligent, but in fact, complacent to the spread of misinformation.”

In follow-up tweets, the company responded affirmatively to queries asking if it was also pulling ads from Instagram, saying that its decision extends to “all Facebook owned properties.”

After The North Face’s announcement, outdoor clothing company REI announced that it will follow suit.

In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for Facebook said that the company “deeply respect[s] any brand’s decision and remain[s] focused on the important work of removing hate speech and providing critical voting information.”

The #StopHateforProfit campaign accused Facebook of actively choosing not to moderate hate speech and said that it has “turned a blind eye to blatant voter suppression on their platform.”

The campaign launched on Wednesday and is sponsored by civil rights groups that include the Anti-Defamation League and the NAACP. The movement calls on brands to pull Facebook ads for the month of July.

“[Facebook] allowed incitement to violence against protesters fighting for racial justice in America,” the campaign’s website said, referring to an incident in late May and early June in which Facebook drew criticism for refusing to remove or add a disclaimer to a post made by President Donald Trump that referred to racial injustice protesters as “THUGS” and threatened, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

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