Starbucks is taking a stand against hate speech after the coffee giant announced Sunday it will be pausing advertising across all social media platforms.
“We believe in bringing communities together, both in-person and online, and we stand against hate speech,” Starbucks said in a statement. “We believe more must be done to create welcoming and inclusive online communities, and we believe both business leaders and policymakers need to come together to affect real change.”
The company added, “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 joins a long list of other companies boycotting advertising on Facebook.
According to reports, more than 150 businesses have pledged to pull their Facebook ads.
Verizon, Hershey’s, Honda, The North Face, Ben & Jerry’s, and Patagonia are among major companies participating in the boycott.
Ben & Jerry’s released a statement on Tuesday announcing the company will be pausing advertising on July 1.
“We will pause all paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram in the United States as part of the [StopHateForProfit] campaign,” Ben & Jerry’s said in a statement.
The company added, “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.”
Coca-Cola also released an official statement on Friday announcing its plan to halt advertising for the next 30 days, as IJR previously reported.
Facebook is working to take steps to slow the spread of misinformation and hateful content across the platform.
The social media giant’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Facebook on Friday to discuss policies put forth by the platform to stop the spread of hateful content in ads, as IJR previously reported.
