Ben & Jerry's Joins Advertising Boycott On Facebook's Platforms To Protest Alleged Inaction Over Racism

Unilever NV UN subsidiary Ben & Jerry's on Tuesday announced it is joining the "Stop Hate For Profit" campaign.

What Happened

The ice-cream brand will stop advertising on Facebook Inc FB and Instagram for a month starting July 1.

"Ben & Jerry's stands with our friends at the [the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People] and Color of Change, the [Anti-Defamation League], 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," the company said in a statement.

"We call on Facebook, Inc. to take the clear and unequivocal actions called for by the campaign to stop its platform from being used to spread and amplify racism and hate."

Why It Matters

Civil rights groups, including the NAACP and the AFL, last week started the Stop Hate For Profit campaign, alleging that Facebook has failed to take action against racist and anti-semitic hostilities on its platforms.

"Let's send Facebook a powerful message: Your profits will never be worth promoting hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism and violence," the campaign says on its website.

A host of other companies, including clothing companies Patagonia, Recreational Equipment or REI, VF Corp. VFC subsidiary The North Face, and freelance platform Upwork, have also joined the boycott, CNBC reported.

FB Price Action

Facebook shares closed nearly 1.3% higher at $242.24 on Tuesday, and inched lower in the after-hours session at $241.87. Unilever shares closed about 0.3% lower at $55.37 in New York the same day.

Image: Courtesy of Ben & Jerry's