• Civil rights organizations including NAACP, Color of Change, Anti-Defamation League, and Sleeping Giants asked advertisers to stop paying for advertisements on Facebook in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.
  • Since Floyd’s death, Facebook has allowed posts in which Trump called protesters “thugs” and suggested violence when he wrote, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
  • Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg decided not to take action in removing the content despite requests. Twitter, on the other hand, flagged Trump’s tweets using the same language as “glorifying violence.”
  • In light of Zuckerberg’s inaction, more than 40 major brands across a variety of industries, including Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Unilever, Verizon, Ford, Ben & Jerry’s, Denny’s, and The North Face have halted their paid advertising on Facebook – some of them just for the month of July.
  • Sleeping Giants has been tracking the more than 500 companies that have joined – read the full list here.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Adidas and its subsidiary Reebok are pausing Facebook and Instagram ads globally through July.

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“Racist, discriminatory and hateful online content have no place in our brand or in society,” Adidas told Adweek.


Affirm, a financial services startup, is pausing paid ads on Facebook and Instagram for July.

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Arc’teryx, an outdoor clothing brand, said it will pause advertising on Facebook and Instagram through at least the end of July. The brand tweeted: “We need a break @facebook.”

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Beam Suntory, a liquor company, will also halt its Facebook and Instagram advertising through July.

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"We stand up for what's right, and we stand with all who are committed to the fight against hate speech, racism and prejudice," the company said in a statement. "That's why Beam Suntory is joining #StopHateForProfit, pausing all paid Facebook and Instagram advertising in the US across our brand portfolio throughout July. We hope this collective action helps catalyze positive change and accountability, and we will evaluate our advertising approach beyond July as we await Facebook's response."


Ben & Jerry's paused Facebook and Instagram ads and called on the company to take "clear and unequivocal actions" to stop the spread of racism on its platform.

Vermont-based ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's, which has campaigned against racial inequality for years, tweeted its announcement Monday.

"We will pause all paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram in the US in support of the #StopHateForProfit campaign. Facebook, Inc. must take the clear and unequivocal actions to stop its platform from being used to spread and amplify racism and hate," the company said.


Best Buy is pausing ads on Facebook and Instagram for the month of July.

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"We support what groups like the NAACP and ADL are trying to achieve, and our decision was made on that basis," a spokesperson told Business Insider.


Birchbox, a subscription company that sends customers samples of makeup and other beauty-related products, is pausing Facebook and Instagram ads for the month of July.

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Birchbox said in an Instagram post it plans to "re-allocate our advertising dollars to other platforms and to support more individual content creators."

"We want Facebook to acknowledge this demand for change and to commit to making the necessary changes suggested on StopHateForProfit.org," it added.

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Blue Bottle Coffee said it would pause Facebook ads for July.

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Software company Braze paused its paid ads on Facebook, while CMO Sara Spivey called for other companies to join the boycott.

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Campbell Soup Company is pausing all social media activity on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, including ads and organic posts, through at least August.

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"The consumer experience on these social platforms has become increasingly divisive, and we will use this time to reevaluate our advertising standards and association with these platforms to ensure that our brands are not in environments that promote bias, racism or hatred of any kind," the company told Adweek.


Cava is pausing paid ads on Facebook and Instagram through at least July.

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Chipotle will stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram through at least July.

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"We will continue to be part of the solution to fight systemic racism and create inclusive communities," Chipotle Chief Marketing Officer Chris Brandt told Adweek.

The company told Adweek it would keep posting organically and didn't say whether it would continue to use Facebook Audience Network.


Chobani is pausing all social media advertising, saying it has "always stood against hate & bigotry and it is our duty to help change these platforms."

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CLIF Bar is pausing paid ads on Facebook and Instagram for July.

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Clorox is pausing Facebook ads through 2020.

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"As a people-centered company committed to our values, we feel compelled to take action against hate speech, which we believe will increase through the balance of the year," Clorox Chief Marketing Officer Stacey Grier told Adweek, adding that the company will shift its ad spending to "other media."


Coca-Cola said it would pause paid ads on all social media platforms so it can "reassess" its ad spending policies.

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Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey told Adweek that Coca-Cola will pause international paid ads across all social media platforms for 30 days so it can "reassess our advertising policies to determine whether revisions are needed."

"There is no place for racism in the world, and there is no place for racism on social media," Quincy told Adweek, adding that the company expects "greater accountability and transparency from our social media partners."


Conagra Brands is pausing Facebook and Instagram ads in the US for the rest of 2020.

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Conagra, which owns food brands like Slim Jim, Hunt's, and Pam, told Adweek that it would continue to post organically but wouldn't use Facebook Audience Network, the platform's targeted ads tool.

"We stand by our company values including broadmindedness and integrity and believe there is no place for hate, intolerance and racism in the world or on social media," a spokesperson told Adweek.


Consumer Reports will pause paid ads on Facebook and Instagram indefinitely.

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"Facebook must step up and take meaningful action to stop the spread of misinformation and hate speech on its platforms," the nonprofit product review site tweeted.


CVS Health is pausing paid ads on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter through at least July.

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CVS told AdAge that it plans to use the month to define its strategy moving forward and doesn't plan to support any platform that isn't working to "eliminate hate speech and misinformation," and said that: "While some have joined organized boycotts, we've chosen to act with independence to ensure that our standards are met, and our values upheld."


Dashlane, a password management software, is pausing paid ads and organic posts on Facebook and Instagram through at least July.

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Denny's became the first restaurant industry brand to join the boycott, saying it would halt all Facebook ads starting July 1.

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"Denny's is a place where folks from all walks of life are welcome and accepted for who they are. We are committed to promoting diversity, equality and inclusion across our restaurants nationwide and fighting for racial justice. This commitment extends well beyond our restaurants' doors and into our workplace, as well as the thousands of local communities we serve each and every day," Denny's said in a statement to Business Insider.

"As America's Diner, we offer an inclusive and welcoming environment where all people can enjoy a nice meal and we strongly oppose hate speech of any kind. It is our belief that Facebook has not done enough to address this important issue on its platform and we are calling on Facebook to make positive changes to its process for combatting hate speech and disinformation. We are proudly joining the #StopHateForProfit campaign and pausing all paid advertising on Facebook, as of July 1," the company added.


Beverage giant Diageo will pause all social media advertising starting July 1.

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Diageo, the company behind alcohol brands like Guinness, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, and Bailey's, tweeted that it "strives to promote inclusion and diversity" and would "continue to discuss with media partners how they will deal with unacceptable content."

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Dockers

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Dunkin' Brands

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Dunkin' Brands has "temporarily" paused paid media advertising on both Facebook and Instagram for both Dunkin' and Baskin Robbins.

"We continue to assess our social media plans, and we are in talks with Facebook about its plans to eliminate hate speech and to stop the spread of racist rhetoric and false information," a spokeswoman told Business Insider.


Eddie Bauer is suspending ads on Facebook and Instagram through the end of July.

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Edgewell Personal Care's brands in North America and Europe will stop paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram starting July 1.

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"We believe that Facebook is not doing enough to fight the hate speech on their platforms," Edgewell, which owns brands like Schick, Banana Boat, Playtex, and Wet Ones, said in a LinkedIn post.

"For us, this issue is personal. We are a people-first company, driven by our purpose of making useful things joyful, and we are committed to standing up for what is right," it added.


Fons, a payment company, has sworn off Facebook advertising.

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CEO and co-founder Eric Branner said that the boycott could potentially lead to Facebook changing its policy.


Ford is pausing all social media advertising in the US for the next month.

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Reuters reported that the second-largest US automaker is reevaluating its presence across all social media platforms and ad spending outside the US as well.

A Ford spokesperson told Reuters that hate speech, violence, and racial injustice in content on social media "needs to be eradicated."


Habitat For Humanity, a major nonprofit, is pausing all ads on Facebook's services for the month of July.

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Herschel Supply Co., a backpack and luggage maker, is pausing paid ads on Facebook and Instagram for July.

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Honda's US division was the first automaker to join the ad boycott, pausing paid Facebook and Instagram ads for July.

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"For the month of July, American Honda will withhold its advertising on Facebook and Instagram, choosing to stand with people united against hate and racism. This is in alignment with our company's values, which are grounded in human respect," Honda told AdAge.


HP is halting ads on Facebook indefinitely and is reevaluating its ad spending across all social media.

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"HP is a purpose-driven brand and we expect all platforms on which we advertise to uphold responsible policies that prevent our ads from appearing alongside objectionable content, regardless of the source," the company said in a press release.

"We have expressed deep concerns to Facebook and are stopping U.S. advertising on the platform until we see more robust safeguards in place. We are also reviewing our social media strategy across all markets and platforms, and we will take additional actions as needed to protect our brand and combat hateful content," it added.


J.M. Smucker Company said none of its 40+ brands, which include Smucker's, Dunkin', Jif, and Crisco, will advertise on Facebook or Instagram for at least July.

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"Moving forward, we will only advertise on platforms that are taking meaningful, systemic steps to rid their ecosystems of hate speech and discriminatory content," the company said in a statement.

"Based on these enhanced guidelines, none of our 40+ brands will be advertising on Facebook or Instagram in the month of July, and potentially longer, as we await details on the steps Facebook will take to eliminate hate speech and discriminatory content from its platforms. We have shared this decision with Facebook and encouraged them to take meaningful steps to address these important issues," it added.


JanSport is pausing paid Facebook and Instagram ads for the month of July.

Foto: JanSport is donating 12,500 backpacks to students in need as part of a partnership with World Central Kitchen. Source: JanSport.

JanSport tweeted that it would "join the fight for stricter policies that keep racist, violent & hateful content from proliferating on these platforms."


Kimberly-Clark Corp., the company behind brands like Kleenex, Cottonelle, and Huggies, is pausing paid ads on Facebook and Instagram in the US and Canada and won't use Facebook Audience Network. for July.

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"Kimberly-Clark is committed to only engaging with media partners that support our values and meet our standards for safety, civility and tolerance," the company told Adweek.


KIND is pausing all Facebook and Instagram ads throughout July and will consider doing so permanently unless Facebook changes.

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"Social media platforms - and particularly Facebook - have been exacerbating divisions and fueling hatred by knowingly allowing false and hateful information to permeate across their platforms," KIND founder Daniel Lubetzky told employees, which he also shared on LinkedIn.

"We need to communicate to our counterparts at Facebook that, as much as we all care about financial objectives, protecting our society and stopping groups from undermining our democracy, our rule of law, and our social fabric matters far more," he added.

Lubetzky, who also sits on the board of the Anti-Defamation League (one of the groups behind the boycott), said if Facebook doesn't take "visible, measurable and assertive efforts to effectively prevent the promotion of hate, division, defamation and misinformation" by the end of 2020, KIND would consider pausing advertising indefinitely until Facebook made further changes.


LEGO is pausing all ads on social media for at least 30 days while it reviews its advertising standards.

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"We are committed to having a positive impact on children and the world they will inherit. That includes contributing to a positive, inclusive digital environment free from hate speech, discrimination and misinformation," LEGO's chief marketing officer Julia Goldin said in a statement published Wednesday.

"We will take immediate steps to carefully review the standards we apply to advertising and engagement on global social media platforms. While we do that, we will pause all paid advertising on global social media platforms for at least 30 days," she added.


Levi Strauss & Co. is pausing its advertising on Facebook and Instagram through at least the end of July.

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"We want to see meaningful progress toward ending the amplification of misinformation and hate speech and better addressing of political advertisements and content that contributes to voter suppression," Levi's told Adweek, adding that Facebook's efforts so far are "not enough."

The company also owns Dockers, which will join the ban as well.


Limeade, a software company that focuses on employee experience, is also halting advertising.

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Lululemon will pause paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram.

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"As individuals, as leaders and as a company, we believe we all have a responsibility to create a truly inclusive society, and that includes using our brand and our voice to advocate for change," the company tweeted.


LUNA Bar is pausing all paid ads on Facebook and Instagram for July.

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Madewell is pausing paid ads on Facebook and Instagram for July.

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Magnolia Pictures — the studio behind "I Am Not Your Negro" and upcoming documentary "John Lewis: Good Trouble" — is pausing its advertising.

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Molson Coors Beverage Company is pausing paid ads on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter while it revisits its advertising standards.

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Molson Coors is "choosing to pause Facebook, Instagram and Twitter while we revisit our own advertising standards to create better guardrails to protect our brands and address the spread of hate speech," Chief Marketing Officer Michelle St Jacques told employees, according to CNBC.


Mozilla, which develops the Firefox internet browser, stopped advertising on Facebook in 2018 following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

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"The policies and practices that led to the [Cambridge Analytica] scandal demonstrated that Facebook was not taking adequate care to safeguard people's personal data on their platform. As a result, we not only stopped our advertising spend, but we stopped using Facebook to promote Mozilla or Firefox," interim Chief Marketing Officer Mary Ellen Muckerman told Business Insider in a statement.

"Like other companies now, we find what Facebook is doing in this moment to be problematic as well. Barring any significant changes in their actions, we have no plans to resume our advertising on Facebook," she said.


Patagonia announced that it would boycott Facebook and Instagram ads through at least July over "hateful lies and dangerous propaganda on its platform."

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Patreon, a crowdfunding platform, said it would remove ads from Facebook and Instagram "until significant action is taken by Facebook."

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"At Patreon, we believe in building safe communities for creators and their fans, which means we do not tolerate hate speech of any kind," the company tweeted.

"We encourage our industry peers to do the same," it added.


PepsiCo is reportedly pulling Facebook ads through July and August.

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Fox Business reported that Pepsi will halt ads on the platform globally during July and August but that the company has yet to make an official announcement.

Pepsi subsidiary Sodastream is also pausing Facebook ads, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing an Israeli local news outlet.


Pernod Ricard, which owns alcohol brands like Absolut Vodka and Jameson Irish Whiskey, is pausing paid ads on all social media for July.

Foto: Source: Igor Golovniov/Getty Images

"Movements like #StopHateForProfit are demonstrating that brands and consumers want them to take more urgent action. This is important, and it is why we are joining the movement for the next 30 days across all paid social media platforms, not just Facebook," Pernod Ricard USA CEO Ann Mukherjee told AdAge.

AdAge also reported that the company is creating an app for consumers to identify hate speech on social media.


Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant, is pausing paid ads on Facebook and Instagram and won't use Facebook Audience Network for July.

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Pfizer will "continue a dialogue directly with Facebook, to emphasize how these issues impact our ability to advertise on the platform and hope that we can be a part of a solution that addresses these issues," the company said in a statement to Adweek.


Puma said it would pause paid all ads on Facebook and Instagram for July.

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REI said it would stop its Facebook ads for the month of July.

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SAP will halt paid ads on Facebook and Instagram indefinitely.

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SAP, one of the biggest enterprise software companies in the world, said in a statement it would pause ads on Facebook's services "until the company signals a significant, action-driven commitment to combating the spread of hate speech and racism on its platforms."

"It's really now time to stand up against racism. For way too long, we've just ignored that. All of us were too silent about that," CEO Christian Klein told Business Insider in an interview.


Signet Jewelers, parent company of Zales, Jared, and Kay Jewelers, is pausing paid ads on Facebook and Instagram for July.

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"At Signet, we hold to a belief that love inspires love," the company told The New York Times, adding: "We therefore stand resolutely against any racist, discriminatory and hateful online content."


Starbucks is pausing advertising on all social media platforms.

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The coffee giant did not mention Facebook by name, but said it is continuing internal discussions with partners and civil rights organizations "in the effort to stop the spread of hate speech."

"We believe in bringing communities together, both in person and online, and we stand against hate speech," the company wrote on its website on Sunday. "We believe more must be done to create welcoming and inclusive online communities, and we believe both business leaders and policy makers need to come together to affect real change."


Talkspace, a mental health app, also halted its Facebook advertising. CEO Oren Frank said he "will not support a platform that incites violence, racism, and lies."

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Target is pausing paid ads on Facebook and Instagram through at least July.

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Target told Adweek in a statement that it would "use that time to reevaluate our plans for the remainder of the year."


The Hershey Co. is halting ad spending on Facebook and Instagram in July and will cut spending by a third for the remainder of the year.

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"As a company, we stand for the values of togetherness and inclusion and we are resolute in our commitment to make a difference and be part of positive change," Jill Baskin, The Hershey Co.'s chief marketing officer, told Business Insider. "We are hopeful that Facebook will take action and make it a safe space for our consumers to communicate and gather."

Baskin added that the company told Facebook that it was unhappy with its stance on hate speech earlier this month but was not satisfied with its response. The company also said that it cut its spending on the platform by a third for the remainder of the year.

"We do not believe that Facebook is effectively managing violent and divisive speech on their platform," Baskin said. "Despite repeated assertions by Facebook to take action, we have not seen meaningful change."


The North Face was the first major brand to halt its paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram.

Foto: Source: Bethany Biron/Business Insider

The North Face announced its decision on Friday.

"We know that for too long harmful, racist rhetoric and misinformation has made the world unequal and unsafe, and we stand with the NAACP and the other organizations who are working to #StopHateforProfit," Steve Lesnard, The North Face's global VP of marketing, said in a statement.


Unilever, a major consumer goods company that owns brands like Dove, Lipton, and Vaseline, said it would halt US ads on both Facebook and Twitter for the rest of 2020.

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"Based on the current polarization and the election that we are having in the U.S., there needs to be much more enforcement in the area of hate speech," Luis Di Como, Unilever's head of global media told The Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report the news.

"There is much more to be done, especially in the areas of divisiveness and hate speech during this polarized election period in the U.S.," Unilever said in a statement. "Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society."

Facebook's stock tumbled as much as 7% following Unilever's announcement.


University of Phoenix, one of the largest for-profit online colleges, will indefinitely pause all ads on Facebook and Instagram and won't use Facebook Audience Network.

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"We will continue to closely monitor Facebook's actions in the coming days and weeks, along with the actions of all social media platforms. We strongly urge Facebook to accelerate its efforts to implement a set of measures to fight racism and hateful discrimination," University of Phoenix said in a statement.

"We will continue our community-building activities on Facebook-which are non-paid and organic in nature-because such engagement is essential to our students' learning and progression, as a University that is operating wholly online due to the COVID-19 pandemic," the school added.


Upwork, a virtual freelancing platform, is halting its advertising across all Facebook platforms. CEO Hayden Brown tweeted, "We're out too."

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"We cannot stand by and be complicit to or complacent about the spread of hate, racism and misinformation, and that is why we are supporting the Stop Hate for Profit advocacy campaign, which calls for pausing advertising on all Facebook platforms in the month of July. Upwork will pause advertising on Facebook and Instagram as a part of this campaign," Brown told NBC News in a statement.


Vans will redirect its Facebook and Instagram ad budgets for July "to support Black communities through empowerment and education programs."

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"We remain committed to our responsibility to do more in the fight against racial inequality," Vans head of global marketing Nick Street told Business Insider.

"Our decision to join the #StopHateForProfit campaign demonstrates just one of the ways we are working diligently, thoughtfully and continuously to becoming anti-racist in everything we do," Street added.

Vans also said it will divert its July budget for retail store window displays across the US and Canada to causes that "uplift and empower the Black community."


Verizon, after being pressured directly by civil rights groups, told AdAge it would pause Facebook advertising until the company could "create an acceptable solution that makes [Verizon] comfortable."

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After the Anti-Defamation League sent a letter to major advertisers allegedly showing their ads next to hate speech on Facebook, Verizon decided it would temporarily halt advertising on the platform.

"Our brand safety standards have not changed," a Verizon spokeswoman told AdAge, adding: "We're pausing our advertising until Facebook can create an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable and is consistent with what we've done with YouTube and other partners."


Viber said it will "cut all business ties" with Facebook in addition to joining the ad boycott.

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Rakuten, which operates encrypted messaging service Viber, said in a press release that it will immediately pause all ads on Facebook, as well as remove Facebook Connect (which enables users to sign into apps with their Facebook account), Facebook SDK (a set of software tools that allows developers to integrate Facebook with their apps), and GIPHY (a GIF service recently purchased by Facebook).

"Facebook continues to demonstrate poor judgment in understanding its role in today's world. From the company's mishandling of data and lack of privacy in its apps, to its outrageous stand of avoiding the steps necessary to protect the public from violent and dangerous rhetoric, Facebook has gone too far," said Viber CEO Djamel Agaoua.


Volkswagen Group is pausing paid ads on Facebook and Instagram for July.

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"The Volkswagen Group stands for open interaction with each other based on equality," the company told The New York Times, adding: "An environment of fake news or hate speech is therefore unacceptable to us."


White Castle is pausing paid ads on Facebook and Instagram indefinitely.

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White Claw and sister brand Mike's Hard Lemonade will pause paid ads and organic posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter starting July 1 and won't use Facebook Audience Network.

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"We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive community and do not tolerate hate speech, racism or violence," White Claw told Adweek.


Wingstop Restaurants is pausing paid ads on Facebook and Instagram for July.

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