"The popular streaming service Hulu has been refusing to run ads involving certain topics that the company deems too “controversial,” including abortion rights, gun control and climate change, according to a series of news reports. It’s the latest measure highlighting the role Big Tech is playing in America’s increasingly polarizing culture war, which many experts and activists say has become a major impediment to climate action.
Earlier this month, Hulu rejected several political ads from Democratic organizations and political candidates that referenced some of the party’s central campaign issues in this year’s election cycle, as first reported by The Washington Post on Monday. In at least one situation, the streaming service refused to run an ad until the phrase “climate change” was taken out of it.
That’s a problem, Democrats say, because streaming services have become a key platform where younger generations consume media, meaning a major voting bloc could essentially be cut off from their messages. Regarding global warming, it’s an especially poignant problem ahead of a midterm election that many experts believe will determine whether the Biden administration can pass any meaningful national climate legislation at all, and perhaps whether the U.S. will be able meet its commitments to the Paris Agreement to rein in global warming."
Kristoffer Tigue reports for Inside Climate News July 26, 2022.