Source: John Keeble / Getty
The North Face just sent a thunderous message to Facebook.
The iconic extreme sportswear brand is no stranger when it comes to bold moves and taking giant steps. Today (Jun.19), the company became the first major brand to boycott Facebook by pulling its ads from the social media network. The decision comes as Facebook is facing mounting pressure from civil rights organizations over its handling of misinformation and hate speech in the aftermath of George Floyd’s fatal arrest.
The clothing brand announced it was standing in solidarity with organizations including the NAACP, the Anti-Defamation League, and Sleeping Giants by no longer buying ads on the network announcing in a tweet, “We’re in. We’re out.” In a statement, The North Face’s global VP of marketing further clarified his companies stance.
“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.”
According to a company spokesman, effective immediately, The North Face will be halting all US paid advertising with Facebook until it sees the social network put stricter policies to curb racist, violent, and hateful content and misinformation from circulating on the platform.
According to Business Insider, The North Face won’t be the only brand to boycott Facebook. An ad agency source told the website to anticipate other brands to walk away from Facebook as well.
Facebook has been under fire since it refused to take action by policing posts from “President” Donald Trump and following a ridiculous statement from CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.
“We have a different policy than Twitter on this. I believe strongly that Facebook shouldn’t be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online. I think in general private companies shouldn’t be, especially these platform companies, shouldn’t be in the position of doing that.”
The reaction to The North Face’s decision has been well-received with Twitter users applauding the company’s decision to boycott Facebook.
Reason 999,999,999 why The North Face is one of our favorite brands.
Photo: John Keeble / Getty
