Patagonia Joins The North Face and REI On List Of Brands Pulling Ads From Facebook

Patagonia announced on Sunday that they will be joining REI and The North Face in pulling their ads off Facebook in an effort to get the social media giant to change how hate speech and misinformation are handled on the platform. This includes any ads on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.

Two civil rights groups, the Anti-Defamation League and NAACP, took out full-page ads in the Los Angeles Times to call out Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg for its unwillingness to police hate speech and misinformation, and for allowing extremists to incite violence on the platform. The groups have called on companies to stop advertising on Facebook for the month of July in order to get Facebook’s attention.

Patagonia is proud to join the Stop Hate for Profit campaign. We will pull all ads on Facebook and Instagram, effective immediately, through at least the end of July, pending meaningful action from the social media giant.

— Patagonia (@patagonia) June 21, 2020

“Could they protect and support Black users? Could they call out Holocaust denial as hate? Could they help get out the vote? They absolutely could. But they are actively choosing not to do so,” the Los Angeles Times ad reads, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Patagonia said that their ads will be pulled from both Facebook and Instagram effective immediately, and the boycott will last at least through July.

“Patagonia is proud to join the Stop Hate for Profit campaign. We will pull all ads on Facebook and Instagram, effective immediately, through at least the end of July, pending meaningful action from the social media giant,” Patagonia tweeted.

According to the Sentinel, Facebook earned nearly $70 billion in ad revenue in 2019, making up more than 98% of its total revenue.