The Leader of the British Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer, has launched a “complete boycott” of party advertising on Facebook in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Facebook has been accused of failing to do enough to remove hate speech and racist conspiracy theories following the death of George Floyd.
Labour made the decision to join the likes of Coca-Cola, Lego, and Adidas in suspending all ads on the site last week, although it has not been announced publicly.
Critics have accused the month-long boycott of being superficial, illiberal and a way for corporations to “virtue-signal” without addressing the causes of racism.
An email sent to senior Labour staff last week read: “This is a complete boycott, meaning we can’t use Facebook to advertise anything at all and can’t use it to boost posts.”
The campaign seeks to pressure Facebook to take action on removing hate speech, disinformation and racial injustice on its platforms. The email added: “Social channels are a powerful place for us to get our message across. But they also have a duty in stopping the spread of hate.”
Labour has since cancelled thousands of pounds of ads, including a campaign to signal its support for the NHS and publicity for “Call Keir” — virtual meetings for the leader to talk to voters.
A party source said: “This is to show that we stand against hate online, especially in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, and urge Facebook to take stronger steps to tackle it on their platforms.”
The Democratic Party in the US is under pressure to follow suit. Facebook is separately considering cancelling all political advertising before America’s presidential election in November.
Political parties have become increasingly reliant on paid advertising on social media to reach voters.
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