For Immediate Release: June 25, 2020

Color Of Change calls on industry leaders to go #BeyondtheStatement and pause Facebook ads to prove solidarity with Black Lives Matter

NATIONWIDE — In response to Verizon and 92 other companies committing to the #StopHateforProfit pledge, Color Of Change’s President Rashad Robinson issued the following statement:

“Since June 17, when we launched the #StopHateforProfit campaign with our partners, nearly 100 companies from diverse industries have committed to pausing ads on Facebook in July to address the platform’s failure to remove hateful, denigrating and discriminatory content.  Verizon spends millions on a monthly basis on advertising for Facebook platforms and its commitment to the #StopHateforProfit campaign is a huge step in this campaign and is a call for other industry leaders to follow suit.  Amid this global movement to end anti-Blackness, we credit these companies for answering our call swiftly and taking a clear stand for what’s right so we can hold Facebook accountable for its racist policies.

Facebook’s leadership can withstand regulatory, legal, and media scrutiny because of the billions of dollars the company receives in advertising. Major corporations that have publicly shared their sympathies for the struggles Black Americans face can and should go one step further by taking our pledge to halt the funding of racism and hate.

Facebook has committed to releasing the third and final installment of its internal civil rights audit expected any day now. With our partners, we have been pressuring the company to bring in senior-level civil rights expertise in this final installment of the audit, so that the work to stop hate on the platform, which is far from complete, can continue. Facebook has a decision to make: adopt a civil rights infrastructure or continue to see key advertisers dropping from its platform.”

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