Fox News reportedly just lost another advertiser to the radical left-wing mob. Bayer is the latest company to drop conservative hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham amid long, simmering advertiser boycotts against the Fox hosts, reported ThinkProgress co-founder Judd Legum, citing an anonymous source.
The German pharmaceutical giant was one of the top advertisers for the hosts.
Report: Bayer drops Carlson, Ingraham
Ingraham and Carlson have both been the targets of leftist advertiser boycotts recently. In general, left-wing activists have sought to muzzle the Fox pundits over their so-called bigotry. Carlson and Ingraham often criticize uncontrolled immigration on their shows.
While it isn’t clear what exactly prompted Bayer’s decision, Ingraham was recently accused by the leftist media of “defending” failed wanna-be congressman and white supremacist Paul Nehlen. While discussing free speech and social media censorship on her show, Ingraham displayed a graphic with a list of “prominent voices” censored by the social media giants, including Nehlen, Alex Jones, James Woods, and Laura Loomer, all of whom had been banned from Facebook and/or Twitter for various reasons.
Ingraham’s critics charged that the host was “defending” Nehlen by including his name on the list. But Fox News stood by Ingraham, rightly clarifying that the focus of her segment was on protecting free speech — not in defending the particular views of any of the controversial figures.
“Anyone who watches Laura’s show knows that she is a fierce protector of freedom of speech, and the intent of the segment was to highlight the growing trend of unilateral censorship in America,” Fox News said in a statement.
The controversy prompted advertiser Fracture to immediately drop Ingraham, saying, “We certainly don’t have to support hate speech with our advertising dollars.”
Bayer previously dropped Ingraham last year after she mocked gun control activist David Hogg when he complained about getting rejected from colleges. Bayer returned to Ingraham’s show in August of 2018.
Fox advertisers targeted with boycotts
As for Carlson, Bayer had reportedly not advertised on his show for months until Monday night. Legum, who is a left-wing journalist and former Democratic staffer, drew attention to Bayer’s return in a Monday night tweet that was shared more than 9,000 times.
“Following a series of xenophobic, bigoted, and misogynist comments by Tucker Carlson, @Bayer has not advertised on his show for months,” he tweeted. “The company has advertised three times on Tucker’s show tonight.”
Like Ingraham, Carlson has been subjected to an ongoing pressure campaign from the left. In March, Carlson’s show survived a search-and-destroy effort by left-wing activist group Media Matters. The group dug up audio from more than 10 years ago in which Carlson made offensive comments on a shock jock radio show. The pundit refused to apologize to the mob and he ended up weathering the storm, although he lost some advertisers in the process.
Judge Jeanine Pirro also lost advertisers in March amid a suspension by Fox.
Carlson has lost dozens of advertisers since the left’s advertiser boycotts against him began in earnest last year, after the Fox pundit said that unchecked immigration makes America “poorer,” “dirtier,” and “more divided.” Activists have also taken more violent measures to achieve their political goals. An angry far-left mob gathered outside Carlson’s home in November and threatened his family over his immigration comments.
According to Media Matters, Bayer was the second and fifth-most frequent advertiser on Carlson’s and Ingraham’s shows, respectively.
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