A top editor at the Financial Times is calling for a new boycott against Fox News after attributing a spasm of violence over the weekend to content pushed out by the network.
“The most effective thing Americans can do is boycott companies that advertise on Fox. They bankroll the poison that goes from the studio into Trump’s head. The second is vote,” Edward Luce, the paper’s U.S. national editor, said in a tweet Sunday.
The post swiftly took off, generating more than 10,000 retweets by Monday morning.
The most effective thing Americans can do is boycott companies that advertise on Fox. They bankroll the poison that goes from the studio into Trump’s head. The second is vote.
— Edward Luce (@EdwardGLuce) October 28, 2018
Reps for the Financial Times and Fox News did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap.
Top comments for the post featured lists of various advertisers on the network including such household names as Allstate, Bayer and Honda. The call was also taken up by others online like former Daily Beast vice president Alex Leo, who also posted dozens of the company’s advertisers in a lengthy thread over the weekend.
https://twitter.com/AlexMLeo/status/1056561302066393089
Here are companies that prop up Fox News and its racism, hate, xenophobia and misogyny: @Keurig@Ford @LincolnMotorCo@pfizer@libertymutual@BayerUS@Honda @Acura@acehardware@Pampers@Allstate @Esurance@capitalone #FoxNewsBoycott
— Alex Leo (@AlexMLeo) October 28, 2018
Here are more companies that prop up Fox News and its hate @GSK@subaru_usa@FiatChrysler_NA@AlfaRomeoUSA @Dodge @Jeep@Expedia @trivago@boehringerus@tena_us@Ebates @Progressive#FoxNewsBoycott
— Alex Leo (@AlexMLeo) October 28, 2018
And a giant company that advertises its brands on Fox News: @ProcterGamble – @Bounty @MyCascade @Charmin @Crest @DawnDish @Febreze_Fresh @downy @Gillette @GilletteVenus @OlaySkin @OralB @Pantene @Swiffer @Tide @Luvs @Pampers #FoxNewsBoycott
— Alex Leo (@AlexMLeo) October 28, 2018
The Luce and Leo tweets came just hours after authorities say Robert Bowers marched into a Pittsburgh synagogue and killed 11 people. Social media posting showed that Bowers had been obsessed with Fox News talking points, including the migrant caravan and broad demonization of George Soros, which many have suggested is anti-semitic.
It also didn’t help matters for the network that Cesar Sayoc, who stands accused of sending mail bombs to numerous prominent Democrats and CNN’s New York bureau, was also an ardent Trump supporter.
Over the weekend, Fox took measures to rein in some of that content by banning Chris Farrell, after the frequent guest told Lou Dobbs on his Fox Business show that the U.S. State Department was controlled by Soros.
“We condemn the rhetoric by the guest on ‘Lou Dobbs Tonight,’” Gary Schreier, senior vice president of programming for Fox Business Network, said in a statement. “This episode was a repeat which has now been pulled from all future airings.”
Though the network remains a ratings juggernaut and regularly dispenses with its competitors in cable news, it remains vulnerable to advertiser boycotts. Most recently Laura Ingraham was targeted with boycotts after she attacked Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg in March. Her show remains on the air, but has never fully recovered after dozens of advertisers fled the program.