This week, Fox held its biggest pitch of the year to potential advertisershoping to entice massive ad buys to fund its lies-riddled programming.
We all know this event comes just weeks after Fox News agreed to the largest lawsuit settlement in US media history and fired Tucker Carlson. Together, we’ve made sure that potential Fox advertisers remember that it’s the same brand they’re being asked to fund.
Here’s a quick look at what advertisers saw on Monday:
MoveOn members demonstrated outside Fox’s event in New York, demanding that all advertisers stop funding Fox! We also stepped up, delivered our petition and launched mobile billboards at select advertisers’ headquarters. Our message was clear: Every dollar donated to Fox News funds the hate and conspiracy theories they air.
And that’s not all. If in-person events weren’t enough, we’ve made sure those branded companies who are currently funding Fox with their ads are also streamed online by MoveOn members. Thousands of MoveOn members took to the social media accounts of AT&T, GM and Subway to demand that they stop funding Fox, and MoveOn ran an ad online, pitting those brands against some of the wild claims of Fox News personalities showing that Tucker Carlson’s firing doesn’t change the rot at the heart of this propaganda machine.
WATCH MOVEON ANNOUNCEMENT RELEASED THIS WEEK CALLING ON ADVERTISERS TO STOP FUNDING FOX
Any amount of advertising on Fox News subsidizes and supports the network’s far-right propaganda programming. That’s why we put out an announcement demanding that @METRO, @GMAnd @ATT immediately stop all future advertising on Fox News. Go to https://t.co/tv9tyJihs9 to take action! pic.twitter.com/qF6aMbIADK
—MoveOn (@MoveOn) May 15, 2023
MoveOn has a long history of taking on Fox’s lies. But since the Fox News hosts’ private correspondence was made public in late February, we’ve increased the pressure and created sustained pressure on Fox News and its backers. Thanks to members like you, we were able to pressure cable companies and advertisers to end future agreements with Fox.
We’re not done yet, but here are some things we’ve already done together:
- Launch of MoveOn Stop funding Fox Web page!
- Nearly 60,000 members demanded that AT&T, Subway and General Motors stop funding Foxvia petitions that were delivered this week.
- Hundreds of thousands of people have signed other Fox-related petitionsincluding Stop funding Fox, Late Tucker Carlson, Fox News apologizesAnd On-demand cable companies make Fox News optional.
- Made thousands of calls to Comcast, Cox and Spectrum, which are probably in negotiations with Fox News right now and consider raising the “Fox tax” on every cable bill.
- Left thousands of comments and reactions on AT&T, GM and Subway’s social media feeds.
- Launch of a digital advertisement calling AT&T, GM and Subway for Fox funding.
- And more!
It can be easy to doubt that our actions add up in the face of the incredible power and wealth of a mega-corporation like Fox. But all this collective indignation has a real impact! According to a poll released this week, two-thirds of Americans agree that Fox “News” is really propaganda, intent on putting its political agenda and profits before telling the story. And Fox News ad revenue expected to drop more than 8% in 2023. So we can’t give up, even as Fox tries to project stability and confidence.
The only way to end Fox News’ dangerous lies is to expose those who financially enable them to generate revenue, through cable fees and advertising support. MoveOn will continue to hold Fox News accountable and demand that companies #StopFundingFox!
Take action:
You can take steps to prevent Fox News from spreading misinformation and bias by signature of the Stop Funding Fox petition.
And if you’re eager to hold Fox News accountable and haven’t contacted any of these companies directly, you can post a comment on the Subway Facebook page asking him to stop advertising on Fox News, or call Xfinity/Comcast at 877-959-8439 to denounce the increase in the per-subscriber rate they pay Fox News.
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