Why I no longer “Hide” ads? Because one day in a BFOO (blinding flash of the obvious) I realized that by doing so I am accomplishing several things on behalf of the advertiser and the social media platform.

First, by NOT HIDING advertisements, I am NOT giving an insight into what I will or won’t buy. Valuable information for both the buyer and seller of advertising space.

Second The Platform (FB, etc) benefit two ways from ads. They are paid 2 ways. 1. to present the ad to you – that is generally known as “views”. Their second bite at the apple comes in the form of “Click Thrus” which means if you respond to the ad by clicking on it, they receive an additional amount.

Another source of revenue is using any of their “features” to collect money on your behalf using the “float”. This allows them to earn money using the financial float. So using their payment and donation “services” also puts $$ in their pocket.

There is a history and the “original” uses of the float both legal and otherwise have declined with the rise of credit cards and on-line payment.

In an article at Investopedia is a brief overview on financial float – the last paragraphs sum it up for my purposes here:
“Real World Example of Float”
Large companies and financial institutions also often “play the float” with larger sums for-profit—namely, the interest income they earn on an amount by speeding up its deposit into their accounts or slowing down a presentation for payment. Such moves are not illegal, either for individuals or for institutions, if the money involved is all their own. ”

So if your goal is to let media and their advertisers not benefit, then you have to give up the convenience of “click thru”

How? note the website for the advertiser. If a charity, send a paper check or use wire transfer thru your bank. Some business you wish you were not supporting will still benefit (Zelle, Bank, PayPal, etc) but not quite so many.
Does this eliminate your “donation” to Big Tech entities like Facebook, Amazon, etc? No, it does not.

A topic for a different day – but yes, they might benefit me directly like our small business for craft supplies – itsalljuststring.com or indirectly – affiliate commission thru my Amazon Store front Enjoy The Making https://www.amazon.com/shop/wheatcarr and other referral links that may benefit us both like this one to InstaCart https://inst.cr/t/NHE7cDZhr where we each get a credit on your first order.