Here are the (many) companies pulling their ads from Facebook

Facebook has been a platform with wobbly ethics and questionable rules for some time — and now it's facing consequences where they hurt the social media network most.

As many as 19 major companies have, at least temporarily, pulled their ads from Facebook. It's a big loss for the tech behemoth, both in terms of dollars and reputation. Facebook has long been lax on policing hate speech, posts that incite violence, and misinformation.

This was true even as recently as June 2020, when CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg refused to do anything about President Donald Trump's Instagram post that warned: "When the looting starts, the shooting starts." (Facebook owns Instagram, in case you didn't know.)

Over time, the public, and even some Facebook employees, have grown fed up and upped their pressure the company. A group called Stop Hate for Profit took action and organized a push for advertisers to pull out for all of July. Feeling the heat, a whole mess of advertisers have since moved off the platform.

Facebook tried to walk back some of its policies on Friday, announcing new rules that might do something about problematic content – but they also leave lots of room for interpretation. As Mashable's Jack Morse wrote: "Mark Zuckerberg has a bold new plan to occasionally do something about content that violates Facebook's policies. Every now and then. When the company feels like it."

Meanwhile, the advertisers continue to flee. Here's a list of the major companies we've spotted thus far.

1. Ben & Jerry's

This feels like an obvious choice from the progressive ice cream maker. It said in a statement it would halt all paid advertising on Facebook starting July 1.

"Ben & Jerry’s stands with our friends at the NAACPOpens a new window and Color of ChangeOpens a new window, the ADLOpens a new window, and all those calling for Facebook to take stronger action to stop its platforms from being used to divide our nation, suppress voters, foment and fan the flames of racism and violence, and undermine our democracy," it said in a statement.

2. Unilever

The massive consumer goods company — and coincidentally, Ben & Jerry's parent company — announced it would not only pull all U.S. ads from Facebook, but Instagram and Twitter, as well.

"Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society," it said in a statement.

3. Verizon

The telecom giant announced it would stop all Facebook advertising.

"Our brand safety standards have not changed," a Verizon spokesperson told Mashable on Thursday. "We have strict content policies in place and have zero tolerance when they are breached, we take action. 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."

4. The North Face

The outdoor gear brand sent out a tweet saying it was joining the ad boycott.

5. REI

Another company focused on the outdoors, Recreational Equipment, Inc. (commonly known as REI), jumped on the boycott not long after The North Face.

"For 82 years, we have put people over profits," it said in a tweet. "We're pulling all Facebook/Instagram advertising for the month of July."

6. Patagonia

Not to miss out while its competitors boycotted, Patagonia (yet another outdoor brand) joined in as well.

The company sent out a number of tweets on the subject, saying, in part, that "Facebook has failed to take sufficient steps to stop the spread of hateful lies and dangerous propaganda on its platform."

7. Arc'teryx

8. Eddie Bauer

9. Rakuten Viber

The messaging software company told AdWeek it planned to indefinitely cut all spending with all Facebook properties.

10. Dashlane

The password management provider committed to pulling ads for at least all of July. Joy Howard, the company's chief marketing officer, wrote a blog calling out the effect advertising on Facebook has had on the world at large.

"What’s changed is that advertising is no longer about growing your customer base and building your business by bankrolling the free press," Howard wrote. "We’re no longer helping to pay the salaries of journalists documenting truth and editorialists making sense of the world. Instead we help fuel an engine of hate. The engine that polarizes communities runs on our ad dollars."

11. Magnolia Pictures

The Hollywood studio that makes doc and independent films said it would pause all advertising through at least July in "seeking meaningful change at Facebook and the end to their amplification of hate speech."

12. Eileen Fisher

The clothing brand wrote in a tweet that it believes in the "power of collective action" and hoped the boycott would make Facebook change.

13. Upwork

The recruiting company put out a tweet noting that it was joining the movement.

14. Honda

15. Birchbox

In a Friday statement from Birchbox posted on Instagram, the beauty-focused subscription service joined the boycott as well.

"In support of the #StopHateForProfit campaign, Birchbox US will be pausing paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram during July, and plan to re-allocate our advertising dollars to other platforms and to support more individual content creators," the statement reads.

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

16. Lululemon

17. Levi Strauss & Co.

The clothing brand that brings us Levi's jeans joined the boycott on Friday, committing the announcement to a blog post attributed to the Levi's brand Chief Marketing Officer Jen Sey.

"[W]e are voicing our concern about Facebook’s failure to stop the spread of misinformation and hate speech on its platform. We believe this inaction fuels racism and violence and also has the potential to threaten our democracy and the integrity of our elections," the post reads.

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Sey goes on to note that Levi's advertising will be paused through "at least" the end of July. "When we re-engage will depend on Facebook's response."

18. The Coca-Cola Company

James Quincy, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, also released a statement on Friday confirming the company's commitment to "at least" a 30-day pause on Facebook ads.

"There is no place for racism in the world and there is no place for racism on social media. The Coca-Cola Company will pause paid advertising on all social media platforms globally for at least 30 days. We will take this time to reassess our advertising policies to determine whether revisions are needed. We also expect greater accountability and transparency from our social media partners."

19. Dockers

20. Mozilla

Mozilla hasn't advertised on Facebook or Instagram for several years, but the company put out a message of support standing with all the other #StopHateForProfit companies.

21. JanSport

The company that made every high school backpack you ever owned won't be giving Faceobok its cash anymore. JanSport tweeted that it was joining the boycott on Friday:

"Count us out @Facebook. We stand with the @NAACP & @ADL to #StopHateforProfit. JanSport will stop advertising on @Facebook & @Instagram for the month of July and join the fight for stricter policies that keep racist, violent & hateful content from proliferating on these platforms."

22. Starbucks

Starbucks plans to pause paid advertising on all social media platforms, according to a Saturday evening statement posted on the company's "Stories & News" website, under the heading: "Creating Welcoming and Inclusive Online Communities."

"We believe in bringing communities together, both in person and online, and we stand against hate speech. 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," the statement reads.

"We will pause advertising on all social media platforms while we continue discussions internally, with our media partners and with civil rights organizations in the effort to stop the spread of hate speech."

Starbucks later confirmed to Mashable that YouTube isn't among the list of platforms where ads will be paused, as reported elsewhere.

23. Patreon

Patreon has been showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement on social media and has hosted an "art as protest" content series. Now they're taking a moral stance against Facebook's policies by joining the ads boycott. That has the added benefit of boycotting the company that's been trying to rip off Patreon's whole business model, too. Gotta love Facebook.

24. Adidas (and Reebok)

Another entry for activewear, Adidas and Adidas-owned Reebok joined the boycott Monday.

“Racist, discriminatory, and hateful online content have no place in our brand or in society,” company told Footwear News. “Over the next 30 days we will develop criteria to hold ourselves and every one of our partners accountable for creating and maintaining safe environments.”

25. Affirm

A rising star in the financial tech space, Affirm has become ubiquitous on e-commerce sites offering interest-fee payments on retail purchases. As of Friday, became Facebook free, too.

"People come first," the brand tweeted. "Affirm is proud to join the #StopHateForProfit campaign, standing against the spread of misinformation and hatred on social media. We will pull our paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram for the month of July to hold these platforms accountable."

26. Aspen Snowmass

A contender for the hoitiest-toitiest ski resort town in the country was an early signatory to the #StopHateForProfit boycott.

"Aspen Skiing Company is using the next month to pause and stand with @NAACP and @ADL to #StopHateForProfit, pending @Facebook addressing the spread of hatred, disinformation and fear on its platform," the skiing company tweeted June 23.

27. Burton

If Facebook users won't be served ads for hitting the slopes, they won't be served ads for Burton sporting products, either. The StopHateForProfit campaign reports that snowboarding and apparel company Burton has signed on.

28. Chobani

The dairy company famous for its greek yogurt confirmed that it had signed on in a tweet on Monday.

"Action over advertising. Today we join our friends at @ADL and a growing list of amazing groups like the @NAACP to pause all our paid social advertising. We've always stood against hate & bigotry and it is our duty to help change these platforms. #StopHateForProfit"

29. Denny's

The social media powerhouse that is Denny's won't be advertising on Facebook in July. Sorry, pancake lovers!

"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," Denny's told Fox Business in a statement. "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."

30. Talkspace

The virtual therapy company has been listed as a boycott participant, and CEO Oren Frank shared news of the boycott on twitter with the tweet "it is sad and unfortunate that only $$$ will eventually make @Facebook do the right thing."

In addition to participating in the boycott, on June 1, TalkSpace announced that it was canceling a planned partnership with Facebook out of moral concerns.

"We will not support a platform that incites violence, racism, and lies. #BlackLivesMatter"

31. The Hershey Company

The iconic candy company with memorable ads of its Kisses joined the boycott Friday.

“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.”

32. Clorox

The cleaning products company is cleaning house. In a statement on Monday, Clorox joined the boycott, saying "The Clorox Company will stop advertising spending with Facebook, Inc. through December.

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. This creates an increasingly unhealthy environment for people and our purpose-driven brands."

33. Ford

The iconic American car company is driving away from Facebook for the time being. Reuters reports that a Ford sportsperson said that hate speech on social media "needs to be eradicated" when it confirmed that it was joining the boycott Monday.

34. Best Buy

Another reason to buy electronics from Best Buy and not Amazon? Best Buy has taken a stand against hate speech on Facebook.

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

35. Pfizer

The decision from the multinational pharmaceuticals company Pfizer has gotta hurt Zuck where it hurts.

36. Microsoft

As first reported by Axios Monday, Microsoft confirmed to Mashable that it had paused its ad spend on Facebook and Instagram. It's not specifically partaking in the boycott. Instead, it's concerned about its ads appearing next to hateful or otherwise inappropriate content.

37. Delta

The world's second largest airline is taking a similar tack to Microsoft and pausing its Facebook ad buy. It hasn't specified whether it's part of the #StopHateForProfit campaign, but did put out the following statement:

"Delta's policy of zero tolerance towards racist, bigoted, or hateful acts or statements extends to our people, our customers, and the companies with which we do business.”

See a complete list of companies that have joined the boycott on the #StopHateForProfit campaign page.

38. Whirlpool

Another company Facebook has touted as an "advertiser success story" is pausing its ads. Though not part of the official boycott, Whirlpool confirmed the stoppage to Mashable in a statement:

"Whirlpool Corporation has chosen not to invest in paid advertising on Facebook platforms this July. The decision was made across the Whirlpool Corporation portfolio of brands in North America. We continually audit our media platforms to ensure our content is respectful to all people and hold ourselves and our advertising partners accountable to a high standard in order we ensure no bias and promote equality."

39. Disney

While the Walt Disney Co. didn't make a public announcement directly tying its ad spending reduction to a push for change at Facebook, a July 18 report in The Wall Street Journal cited "people familiar with the matter" in a report that the company has "dramatically slashed" its spending on Facebook and Instagram ads.

This story is developing and Mashable will continue to update this list regularly.

Topics Facebook Advertising