Profit and Protest: How Facebook is struggling to enforce limits on ads spreading hate, lies and scams about the Black Lives Matter protests

Published: 7th July 2020
Written By: Aoife Gallagher

Following the murder of George Floyd and the protests it has catalysed across the globe, ISD examined Facebook’s ad library for signs of policy violations, in particular content
that “exploits crises or controversial political or social issues for commercial purposes” (prohibited under the platform’s Advertising Policies).

ISD has used this database to identify groups, individuals and companies, using false or provocative narratives related to the protests, for personal gain and/or to promote their cause or products.