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ROCKVILLE, Md.—The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) announced its support of a nationwide pause on advertising on Facebook and Instagram social media channels at least through the month of July. Called “Stop Hate for Profit,” the purpose of the boycott is to encourage Facebook and Instagram (which is owned by Facebook) to change its monitoring policies and procedures to stop postings that incite hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism and violence. “We believe it would be irresponsible to continue advertising at a time when so many voices have spoken up for positive change,” said ASCO president John Flanagan. ASCO’s Optometry Gives Me Life awareness campaign has been using both the Facebook and Instagram platforms to reach undergraduates with a message about the benefits of pursuing a career in optometry.

Dr. Lewis Reich, chair of ASCO’s Applicant Pool Development Task Force which oversees the Optometry Gives Me Life campaign, agrees. “We have multiple ways to reach our target audience, so the Stop Hate for Profit protest won’t be stopping our outreach.”