Mash Direct has joined companies suspending advertising on Facebook over claims the social media giant is not doing enough to stop hate speech.
The Co Down agri-food firm said it was pausing ad campaigns on both Facebook and Instagram until the end of July or until clear actions were taken "to stop the platforms being used to amplify racism and hate".
In the US, Democratic senators have questioned "lack of action to prevent white supremacist groups from using the platform as a recruitment and organizational tool", while major companies including Starbucks and Coca-Cola have recently removed advertising from social media sites.
Facebook has insisted it does not tolerate hate speech and will label potentially harmful or misleading posts and ban some adverts.
Mash Direct chief Jack Hamilton said the site had been its main advertising channel for years "but they have not taken the necessary steps to protect the public from violent and dangerous hate speech".
"Earlier this month we communicated to Facebook that we were unhappy with their stance on hate speech and now we have chosen to put our money where our mouth is," he said.
The company said it will put its advertising money into prizes in on-pack promotions instead.
