Spark NZ shares plunge $262m as calls to boycott intensify

Shares in a New Zealand internet provider that called for women’s rights activists to be censored have plunged, wiping $262m off its market capital.

Spark NZ suffered the loss this week after Rebel News reported the company’s efforts to ban women rights campaigners from Meta’s new Threads platform.

Calls to boycott the company by people angered at their anti-women stance have seen the company’s value fall.

It’s working! $262 million wiped off SparkNZ market capital!

The #BoycottSparkNZ is starting to hit their share price! Let’s gooooo

Tweet all the funds and fund managers you know, this isn’t going away, it’s only starting!

Fuck you @Sparknz pic.twitter.com/9AkE9QqxRh

— The Salty One (@the_salty_one_) July 11, 2023

The Kiwi internet provider got people off-side when it posted on social media that it was “wholeheartedly co-signing” a post by trans activist Shaneel Lal asking Mark Zuckerberg to ban women who speak against the trans takeover of female spaces from Threads.

Spark NZ suffered enormous backlash, with social media users slamming the company for marginalising women.

The company put out a statement on Monday admitting that their post did not reflect well on them and promising that they would “learn” from the experience.

But the fax apology looks to have done little to calm anger.

One social media user wrote: “It’s too late. You have activists in your business. You should be bringing people together and not dividing them.”