Advertisements set to run in several versions of the Washington Post, which calls for Elon Musk to be fired from his role in the government, suddenly cancelled, according to one advocate group that ordered the ad. It was done.
Common Cause said it was said that ads were being drawn from the newspapers on Friday. The full-page ad, known as Wrap Around, covers the forefront and backstage of editions delivered to the White House, the Pentagon and Congress, and was planned in collaboration with the Action Fund for the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Another full-page ad with the same theme was allowed to run within the newspaper, but the two groups also chose to cancel the internal ads. Both ads cost the group $115,000.
“We are pleased to announce that we are committed to providing a range of services to our customers,” said Virginia Kase Solomón, president and CEO of Common Cause. “They said they weren't free to give us a reason.”
The Washington Post news cancelled the ads was previously reported by Hill.
It is unclear who decided whether to draw the ad or why, but the move amid growing concerns about the Washington Post Newsroom's changing mission under the ownership of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. occurs. The newspaper's decision last fall has long tradition of presidential support and the decision to end Bezos' front row seating at Trump's inauguration questions whether news organizations are dealing with the Trump administration. I've come to my mind.
Last month, more than 400 employees wrote to Bezos, demanding a meeting to discuss leadership decisions that they said “readers questioned the integrity of this institution.”
Mrs. Kase Solomón said all the content of the ad (art and text) was sent to the Post's advertising department last Tuesday, with everyone in the newspaper at the time saying “the alarm bell didn't ring.” She said she doesn't know who within the organization decided to draw the rap.
The ad will be “Who runs this country: Donald Trump or Elon Musk?” This ad will contact readers with the senator and it will be time for Trump to fire Musk. I asked him to tell me that.
A Washington Post spokesperson said in an email statement that the newspapers did not comment on internal decisions related to specific advertising campaigns, but pointed out publicly available guidelines for advertising. .
The Common Cause and the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund Fund launched a campaign this month to remove Musk from his position as head of the so-called Government Efficiency Bureau.
Musk, the world's wealthiest man who controls six companies, including Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X, allows Musk to dismantle federal agencies and freeze funds for various purposes He has been given extensive power from the president. Grants and programs.
Margaret Fan, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said the disappearance of key programs and grants would have a direct and negative impact primarily on low-income people and people of color.
“Our goal with this campaign is accountability,” Fan said. “Government people must adhere to all standards of the official federal government obligations, including whether they should be elected or reporting conflicts of interest.
“We are concerned that Musk and Doge are acting without proper surveillance and accountability,” she added, referring to the acronym for Musk's Government Efficiency Initiative.
This is not the first time politics and advertising have clashed within news organizations. This month, Fox News did not run ads from a group of Democrats who were planning to attack Trump's federal spending freeze, according to a Semafor report. A Fox spokesman told Semafor that the ads became controversial after the president pulled the executive order.
Fan said he was surprised, not when the ads were pulled.
“I am surprised because I believe this post is deeply committed to publishing news that is essential to our democracy,” she said. “But no, this post has been making other decisions recently that reflect the organization's new kind of leadership.”
