Former marketing executives launch campaign to keep Fox News from "fueling next insurrection"

The organization Check My Ads has collected 40,000+ signatures in a move to block ad revenue for Fox News

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published June 26, 2022 4:26PM (EDT)

The Fox News Channel logo (Kevin Hagen/Getty Images)
The Fox News Channel logo (Kevin Hagen/Getty Images)

An organization called Check My Ads has launched a campaign in an effort to restrict Fox News ad revenue to prevent them from "working overtime to fuel the next insurrection."

The organization, which is run by two former marketing executives, has already collected over 40,000 signatures from people backing their efforts in just five days, according to The Guardian, and the goal is to get ad exchanges to drop the news site.

"Foxnews.com benefits enormously from being a part of the global advertising society. Foxnews.com receives ads from blue chip brands, which gives incredible legitimacy to the lies that they are publishing. That brand equity is intrinsically valuable," says Claire Atkin, a team member of Check My Ads. 

RELATED: Fox News viewers have no clue: Network blocks nearly all critical coverage of Donald Trump

The messaging included in the campaign reads:

HERE'S THE PROBLEM

Advertisers don't place ads on the internet themselves. They use ad exchanges — technology companies that run ads for them.

Ad exchanges don't work with just anyone. They choose which websites to work with and which ones to drop. They have standards to protect advertisers from funding violence. This is so important to advertisers that they have it written into their contracts.

When Fox News promoted the January 6th insurrection, it was violent. We all saw it — but ad exchange executives pretended it didn't happen.

Since then, Fox News has just gotten worse.

So here's the plan: we need to tell ad exchanges to block their ads from FoxNews.com now.


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"Advertisers have been crystal clear that they do not want to sponsor violence. And we all saw what happened on January 6. It's not just violence, this was the attempted overthrow of the government. This is world-scale political violence," Atkin said. "We are opening the conversation up for everyone who wants to say enough is enough."

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By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Nights and Weekends Editor covering daily news, politics and culture. Her work has also appeared in Vulture, Vanity Fair, Vice and many other outlets that don't start with the letter V. She is the author of one sad book called "Something Is Always Happening Somewhere." Follow her on Bluesky: @WolfieVibes

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