Hulu changes its policy to allow ads about political issues

Share Us

422
Hulu changes its policy to allow ads about political issues
28 Jul 2022
min read

News Synopsis

A Disney spokesperson confirmed to Insider on Wednesday that political issue advertisements are now being accepted on Hulu, the Disney-operated streaming service. The news was initially confirmed by Axios.Hulu now permits advertisements "covering a wide spectrum of policy positions," according to Disney, but users can ask for edits.

The change was made as a result of the harsh criticism Hulu received this week from Democrats after The Washington Post reported that the service had turned down to air the party's advertisements concerning important issues like abortion rights and gun safety.

One of the rejected ads claimed that "Republicans are more devoted to the gun lobby than taking common-sense action to make our kids safe."

The Senate Democrats Twitter account tweeted on Monday that Hulu's "shady policies amount to outrageous political censorship."

"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 Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) tweeted.

Political issue advertisements were not accepted by Hulu but candidate advertisements were. As opposed to broadcast networks like Disney's ABC, which largely cannot decline to run political advertisements, streaming services like Hulu are not subject to the same regulations.

However, Hulu's new policy means that it now permits both candidate ads and issue-based ads, matching Disney's cable networks like FX and ESPN.

TWN In-Focus