REI joined The North Face on Friday in dropping Facebook from its advertising mix for July, saying in a statement:
For 82 years, we have put people over profits. We’re pulling all Facebook/Instagram advertising for the month of July. #StopHateForProfit
Learn more: https://t.co/XCQSnUO8XJ https://t.co/Jp1GaKdCUN
— REI (@REI) June 19, 2020
Facebook makes up to 99% of its revenue through advertising according to the Anti-Defamation League, and REI is the latest national brand to “put the pause” on Facebook advertising.
“Facebook remains unwilling to take significant steps to remove political propaganda from its platform…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,” Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement.
Upwork and New Balance have already have similarly put the “pause” on their Facebook advertising. Brands and users are putting pressure on Facebook for, among other things, the spread of conspiracy theories and false information surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, encouraging violence against Black Lives Matter protesters and allowing racist and dangerous groups to flourish.