Hulu under fire for refusing to run ads on climate change, abortion and gun control

Streaming platform Hulu has come under fire from subscribers for rejecting political ads on abortion, gun control, and climate crisis from Democratic organisations.

It was reported on Monday that a group of Democratic campaign organisations on 15 July had tried to buy political ads on Hulu, but the Disney-backed platform rejected them.

The ads had been running on Facebook, YouTube and Roku, the Washington Post’s exclusive said.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Governors Association tried to purchase joint ads on abortion and guns with Hulu on July 15, “along with identical placements on a Disney-affiliated ABC affiliate in Philadelphia and the company’s cable sports channel ESPN”, the Post reported. But the Hulu ads never ran.

“Hulu’s censorship of the truth is outrageous, offensive, and another step down a dangerous path for our country,” the executive directors of the three committees, Christie Roberts, Tim Persico and Noam Lee, said in a statement to the newspaper.

“Voters have the right to know the facts about MAGA Republicans’ agenda on issues like abortion — and Hulu is doing a huge disservice to the American people by blocking voters from learning the truth about the GOP record or denying these issues from even being discussed,” the statement said.

Hulu subscribers are aghast at the streaming platform.

One user, Tristen Snell wrote on Twitter: “As long as Hulu is blocking political ads on January 6, gun safety, and reproductive rights, I will be blocking Hulu. Unsubscribe and delete.”

Another user wrote: “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.”

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) wrote on Twitter: “BREAKING: @Hulu is REJECTING [sic] our ads calling out GOP attacks on abortion access and gun safety. Their shady policies amount to outrageous political censorship. Americans deserve to know the truth about these issues, and Hulu has no right to block it.”

Another user said: “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.”

To counter the #boycotthulu and #cancelhulu trends on Twitter, trends like hashtag #thankyouhulu also started emerging on the platform. One supporter wrote: “#thankyouhulu nobody comes to their streaming apps to hear about politics. If I wanted to hear about politics I’d simply turn on the TV.”

Hulu faced flak for picking the “wrong side.” One user said: “By the way, Hulu -- do you really think shows like A Handmaid’s Tale will be allowed to air if the radical right gains control of America You’re picking a side -- and it’s not the side that’s in your own interest as a business.”