Ben & Jerry’s joins The North Face, REI, and Patagonia in the #StopHateForProfit campaign

Ice cream brand, Ben & Jerry’s, has paused all advertising from Facebook and Instagram in the US starting 1 July in response to the social media platform’s handling of hate speech, urging the social network to impose stricter measures against hateful content.

Civil rights groups, including the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League, had launched the #StopHateForProfit campaign on 17 June, urging large companies to stop advertising with a platform they said doesn’t stop “bad actors using the platform to do harm” at least through the month of July.

“It is clear that Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, are no longer simply negligent, but in fact, complacent in the spread of misinformation, despite the irreversible damage to our democracy. Such actions will upend the integrity of our elections as we head into 2020,” said NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson in a statement.

The #StopHateForProfit boycott campaign was started after the brutal killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Ben & Jerry’s is the latest to join the #StopHateForProfit campaign. In a statement released via Twitter, Ben & Jerry’s said the brand was “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 continues, “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.”

Outdoor apparel, The North Face was the first brand to join the boycott announcing they would be stopping all paid advertising with Facebook and Instagram in the US until the end of July. The brand released a statement saying, “The North Face is halting all activity and US paid advertising with Facebook until stricter policies are put in place to stop racist, violent or hateful content and misinformation from circulating on the platform.”

Other outdoor apparels such as REI and Patagonia was quick to join the boycott soon after.

Recruiting company, Upwork, followed in the footsteps of The North Face and Patagonia on Friday, 19 June. The company tweeted, “Upwork is hitting pause on hate with no Facebook advertising in July. #StopHateForProfit.”

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