Christchurch shootings: New Zealand firms consider pulling ads from Facebook, Google and other social media platforms

MELBOURNE/SYDNEY – Some New Zealand companies are weighing whether to advertise on social media, as two industry groups urged them not to in the wake of last week’s mass shooting in Christchurch that was livestreamed on Facebook and redistributed on other platforms.
Fifty people were killed and dozens wounded in the shootings at two mosques in Christchurch on Friday. Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist, was charged with murder on Saturday.
State-owned Lotto NZ said it had already pulled advertising from social media “as the tone didn’t feel right in the aftermath of these events”.
“Like the rest of the country, Lotto NZ is shocked and saddened by the tragic events that occurred in Christchurch on Friday,” Lotto NZ spokeswoman Kirsten Robinson said in emailed comments.