GM CEO Mary Barra. Photo credit: World Economic Forum / Valeriano Di Domenico, under Creative Commons license

Automaker General Motors (GM) has joined a long list of companies that are taking part in an advertising boycott of Facebook, citing being unsatisfied with the social media giant’s efforts to keep hateful content away from its platform as the reason. GM on Friday said it has stopped placing advertisements on Facebook in recent weeks and that it’s in talks with the social media company about improving efforts to curb hateful content on its platform. GM has joined other automakers such as Ford and Honda in a Facebook boycott, notably in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic that has drawn down business for automakers in general.

“We are not satisfied with the progress Facebook has taken to date and therefore have paused our media investment with the platform,” GM said in a press statement. “We are encouraging them to move faster to implement meaningful change so that we can quickly return to a safer digital space that mirrors our brand values.”

GM’s advertising halt seems like a sign that pressure will continue to mount on Facebook to amend its policies on content moderation. Over 1,000 companies in total have boycotted Facebook over its content moderation policies, fueled by a “Stop Hate for Profit” campaign launched by a coalition of civil rights groups. The boycotts, nevertheless, don’t seem to have much affected Facebook’s finances, with the company having just reported strong financial results for the second quarter of this year. During the quarter, Facebook recorded revenues of $18.3 billion, up 11% year-over-year, and net income of $5.2 billion, up 98% year-over-year. The number of Facebook’s daily active users also boosted 12% year-over-year to 1.8 billion during the quarter.