The Open Media and Information Companies Initiative (Open MIC) is helping to lead the charge on two of the first-ever shareholder resolutions asking corporations with large ad budgets to reassess their social media advertising practices. The fear, according to these shareholders, is that the money spent on advertising may inadvertently be funding the spread of white supremacy, disinformation, voter suppression, government censorship, and calls to violence, among other concerns.
According to Open MIC, shareholder resolutions have been filed with home improvement retail giant Home Depot and media holding company Omnicom. The resolutions call on the companies to commission third-party reports to investigate whether advertisements purchased on social media platforms may have contributed to “violations of civil or human rights.”