Technology

Lincoln Project blasts Comcast for not running ad criticizing Fox News

The Lincoln Project is blasting Comcast for refusing to air an advertisement the organization made blaming Fox News for coronavirus deaths among the unvaccinated in the United States. 

“The Lincoln Project was informed by Comcast that they would refuse to run the commercial because it did not meet their guidelines,” the organization said in a statement on Thursday. “Our criticism of Fox News falls under Comcast’s description of a business that is in the public forum or the issue is one of public concern.” 

The Lincoln Project alleged Comcast decided to reject its ad because the media conglomerate is “one of the main sources of Fox News’ revenue.”  

“Comcast has made one thing clear: Their bottom line comes before anything else; it comes before democracy; and in this case, it comes before the health and safety of the American people,” the group said. 

Comcast did not immediately respond to a request from comment.

The company’s guidelines on accepting advertising stipulates any advertisement “may be rejected if it is merely an attack of a personal nature, a direct attack on an individual business or comment on a private dispute. Advertisements may be accepted if the attack is on a business that is in the public forum or the issue is one of public concern.” 

Comcast, one of the largest media companies in the country, owns NBC Universal and MSNBC — a rival network to Fox with a more liberal audience.
 
Fox News had come under criticism for remarks by some hosts that criticized the government’s vaccination campaign or cast doubt on vaccines.
 
Several high profile hosts on the network this week made public comments affirming the vaccines and urging people to get them. In some cases, those figures were reiterating previous statements.
 
On Wednesday, Fox News debuted a new public service announcement urging viewers to receive an inoculation and directing them to a vaccine location tracker on the news outlet’s website.