TORONTO – FRIENDS (previously known as the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting) launched a new campaign Monday, calling on Canadians to “go dark” by refraining from posting any content on Meta’s Facebook and Instagram on Aug. 23 and 24, in response to the social media giant’s blocking of Canadian news content on its platforms.
FRIENDS is also asking Canadians to write their MPs to ask them to support the country’s news media by joining the “Go Dark” campaign.
“It is important that we collectively stand together and show Meta that we won’t be pushed around. They need to understand that the throttling of Canadian news was the final straw in our already tenuous relationship with their social media platforms,” FRIENDS’ executive director, Marla Boltman, said in a press release. “By encouraging users to go dark, Canadians are sending Meta a clear message: if our news goes, we go.”
FRIENDS is actively promoting the Go Dark campaign on Facebook and Instagram “to reach as many Canadians as possible and, in the process, use Meta’s own platforms against them,” the release says.
“Eyeballs on their platforms are the most valuable commodity Meta has,” Boltman added. “Losing many Canadian users, even for a short period of time, will get their attention. But more importantly, it will give Canadians an opportunity to demonstrate their frustration and disappointment with Meta.”
