Banks and Lotto pull online ads

Lotto, Westpac and TSB have pulled social media advertising and other New Zealand businesses are being asked to consider where they put their advertising money, after the Christchurch mosque attacks.

The shooter livestreamed the attacks and videos of the shooting were circulated on social media.

A spokeswoman for Lotto said it had removed its social media advertising ‘‘at this time’’ because the tone did not feel right.

TSB said it was disappointed by the role that social media played in the tragedy and thought it was inappropriate to continue to support it.

At Westpac, a spokesman said it had suspended advertising on social media networks and would engage with those companies about publishing harmful content.

The Association of New Zealand Advertisers and the Commercial Communications Council said the attacks had brought the role of social media into serious question.

‘‘We recognise social media provides many community and social benefits. But with that comes responsibilities for social media owners to effectively moderate content on their sites.

‘‘Advertising funds social media. Businesses are already asking if they wish to be associated with social media platforms unable or unwilling to take responsibility for content on those sites. The events in Christchurch raise the question, if the site owners can target consumers with advertising in microseconds, why can’t the same technology be applied to prevent this kind of content being streamed live?’’

Several other big advertisers said the shooting had changed their strategies.