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enior Conservatives have been accused of being “anti-freedom” after calling for Rishi Sunak to intervene over an promoting “boycott” of some TV channels.
A gaggle of high-profile Tories , together with former prime minister Liz Truss , has written to the Prime Minister urging him to chop ties with the Conscious Advertising Network (Can), which campaigns to interrupt “the economic link between advertising and the harmful content that divides communities”.
The 46-strong group accused Can of posing “a threat to freedom of speech and media plurality in this country”, saying it “intimidates and bullies companies into boycotting news outlets”, resulting in “a media that does not reflect the diversity of views of modern Britain”.
Signatories together with former celebration chief Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former dwelling secretary Dame Priti Patel and several other members of the right-wing Common Sense Group urged the Government to distance itself from Can.
The proposal for state intervention within the promoting business known as for on this letter is anti-freedom and anti-choice
Can was a contributor to a latest Government session on internet advertising, and the letter known as for Mr Sunak to make sure “its politically motivated activists are kept well away from government policy”.
In a press release on Twitter, Can stated: “The proposal for state intervention in the advertising industry called for in this letter is anti-freedom and anti-choice. Advertisers should be allowed to make commercial decisions that grow their brands and, by extension, the British economy.
“This means that hateful content and disinformation, wherever it is directed, is not commercially attractive for many. Do the MPs not support advertisers’ freedom to choose where they advertise, and ordinary Briton’s (sic) right to freedom from harm?”
In addition to its criticism of Can, the MPs’ letter accused 5 main promoting companies – WPP, Publicis, Dentsu, Omnicom and the Interpublic Group – of partaking in an efficient “boycott” of “certain Ofcom-regulated TV channels”.
The MPs stated: “This ‘opt out’ – effectively a boycott – has been implemented via stealth without public scrutiny or regulatory oversight, and is leading to a two-tiered society, where ad agencies and brands are actively discriminating between consumers on the basis of their political views. This discrimination must not be allowed to take root.”
The letter didn’t specify which channels have been topic to the “boycott”, however a number of manufacturers have stated they won’t promote on GB News.
In June 2022, the channel’s chief govt, Angelos Frangopoulos, stated the motion was damaging GB News’ enterprise and was “dangerous for public debate and freedom of speech”.
Last month, Can co-founders Harriet Kingaby and Jake Dubbins denied that they’d ever known as for a boycott of any TV channel or different media platform.
Advertising companies advise on advert placement, however the determination on the place to purchase promoting house is in the end as much as their particular person purchasers, with some persevering with to promote on channels akin to GB News.
The MPs’ letter to the Prime Minister seems to be one other entrance within the “culture war”, following on from claims that banks have been closing the accounts of individuals whose views they disagree with, and concern amongst Conservatives that audio system with right-wing views are being discriminated in opposition to on college campuses.
