Canada's 5 big banks join anti-hate advertising boycott of Facebook
Scotiabank, RBC, CIBC, BMO and TD have pledged to stop purchasing ads on the site for the month, aligning themselves with brands such as Lululemon Athletica and Mountain Equipment Co-op in signing onto the StopHateForProfit campaign... Participating brands will suspend all advertising on the platform for the month of July... A spokesperson for RBC said the company understands that systemic racism has disadvantaged Black people, Indigenous people and people of colour, and the bank intends to combat that. "One way we can do that is by standing against misinformation and hate speech, which only make systemic racism more pervasive," AJ Goodman said.
... A spokesperson for Bank of Montreal told CBC News that the bank "will pause its advertising on Facebook and Instagram during the month of July, while continuing our ongoing dialogue with Facebook on changes they can make to their platforms to reduce the spread of hate speech." TD said it had also "paused" its advertising for the month and added that the bank is "committed to the fight against racism and hate speech and to the work needed to help create a safer and more inclusive society."
... At the beginning of June — shortly after Trump threatened via social media to order the military to shoot anti-racism protesters — hundreds of Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout to protest the company's refusal to label the post as hate speech. A spokesperson for Facebook noted that the company has suspended more than 250 white supremacist groups from the platform but did not specifically comment on the boycott.