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Ariana Baio
Jul 26, 2022
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Hulu is facing backlash from liberals after Democratic leaders complained the streaming platform rejected an anti-gun and a pro-choice advertisement.
On Tuesday morning, Hulu became a trending topic on Twitter after an article by The Washington Post revealed the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Democratic Governors Association said Hulu rejected it's joint advertisements submitted on July 15.
"Hulu's censorship of the truth is outrageous and offensive. Voters have the right to know the facts about MAGA Republicans’ extreme agenda on abortion – Hulu is doing a huge disservice to the American people," the DCCC wrote on Twitter.
Hulu, owned by Disney, told the Democratic organizations on July 18th the advertisement was rejected due to content issues. However, the ad ran on Facebook, YouTube, Roku, Disney-owned ESPN, and an ABC-owned TV station in Philadelphia.
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Following the Washington Post article people online expressed outrage over the rejected ad and encouraged others to unsubscribe from Hulu.
\u201cAs long as Hulu is blocking political ads on January 6, gun safety, and reproductive rights, I will be blocking Hulu. Unsubscribe and delete.\u201d— Tristan Snell (@Tristan Snell) 1658791240
"Hey, @hulu: huge majorities of this country support abortion rights. Your decision to refuse ads that talk about it--that's what's controversial. You're picking the wrong side here by banning ads that talk about reproductive rights." Christina wrote on Twitter.
"Hulu is one of the most impactful platforms for advertising to young voters. By blocking ads on issues like climate change and abortion, Hulu is effectively censoring Democrats from engaging a massive swath of voters on the most critical issues facing our country." Matt tweeted.
\u201cAnd yet when I stream @hulu I am subjected to repeated ads for Walden University, a for-profit college sued by civil rts attys on behalf of a class of Black women who are alleged to have been targeted & kept in a cycle of \u201cdebt and despair\u201d by Walden. https://t.co/UEM86inSqk\u201d— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sherrilyn Ifill) 1658798835
Senate Democrats tweeted out the advertisements showing viewers the type of content it was. In one, the Democrats scolded Republicans for overturning Roe v. Wade and encouraged voters to vote Democrat.
\u201c@hulu RETWEET to help us spread the message: Republicans aren\u2019t stopping now that they\u2019ve overturned Roe \u2014 your rights are on the ballot this November. \n\nHulu is censoring this ad so we need your help to make sure every voter sees it!\u201d— Senate Democrats (@Senate Democrats) 1658756908
The other advertisement called on people to vote Democratic because Republicans are protecting gun laws. The advertisement appealed to parents noting that the leading cause of death in children in the US is gun violence.
\u201c@hulu RETWEET to help spread this far and wide: @Hulu is banning our ads that tell the truth about how Republicans are more devoted to the gun lobby than to keeping Americans safe, so we need your help to get the message out.\u201d— Senate Democrats (@Senate Democrats) 1658756908
We reached out to Hulu for comment.
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