Outdoor apparel brand The North Face has decided to commit to an advertising boycott of Facebook due to its handling of misinformation and hate speech.
The decision of The North Face to boycott Facebook advertising comes after top civil rights groups started calling for advertisers to suspend their marketing initiatives on Facebook in the month of July.
#StopHateForProfit
The #StopHateForProfit pressure campaign was launched by top civil rights groups, including the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League, last Wednesday.
The North Face tweeted: "We're in. We're out @Facebook #StopHateForProfit."
Outdoor equipment retailer REI followed suit several hours later by tweeting: "For 82 years, we have put people over profits. We're pulling all Facebook/Instagram advertising for the month of July."
Recruitment company Upwork also announced its support for the campaign.
The number of companies joining the campaign demonstrates the willingness of businesses to abandon Facebook, if only temporarily, to express support to racial justice advocates and their frustration with the social media firm.
Prior to the campaign, several high-ranking politicians, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have also called for advertisers to use their "tremendous leverage" over social media companies to force them to change their ways.
A large portion of Facebook's revenue comes from advertising.
The North Face's commitment
In a statement, The North Face says its commitment covers ads on Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram. However, the company will continue to create organic content on Instagram.
The statement read: "The North Face is halting all activity and U.S. 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."
Craig Hodges, a spokesman for VF Corp, the parent company of The North Face, said several other brands under their portfolio are "considering" joining the boycott. Among the brands owned by VF Corp are Dickies, Vans, Timberland and Smartwool.
VF Corp spent $756 million on advertising for the year ended March 31.
Backlash on Facebook
The social media giant has been receiving backlash for several weeks now over how it handled US President Donald Trump's inflammatory rhetoric and its inaction on Trump's online posts, including one comment that "looting" would lead to "shooting."
Several Facebook employees have also protested, as well as former staff and even scientists funded by the philanthropic initiative of chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have expressed concern.
On the website for he #StopHateForProfit campaign, it reads: "Let's send Facebook a powerful message: Your profits will never be worth promoting hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism and violence."
Earlier this month, Color of Change met with Zuckerberg to express its opposition to Facebook's handling of Trump's incendiary speech.
Brandi Collins-Dexter, senior campaign director at Color of Change, said: "We think in this moment, if you really think that black lives matter, you have to draw a line in the sand, and you have to be willing to pull your seven figures or however much you spend."
"Any company that financially supports or otherwise provides cover for Facebook ... you're as much a part of the problem and the infrastructure that allows marginalization of people of color to take place," Collins-Dexter added.
