Screentime
Hulu Rejects Campaign Ads as Politics Collide With Streaming TV
- Candidates say service asked them to avoid sensitive topics
- Streaming services not bound by same rules as broadcasters
Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
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Suraj Patel launched an ad campaign recently with two goals in mind: to address hot-button topics and reach young voters who binge-watch streaming services.
“From abortion rights and gun laws to climate change, 1990s Democrats are losing every major battle to Mitch McConnell,” Patel, a Democrat running for Congress in New York, says at the start of the commercial. Moments later, he adds that “Trumpism is on the rise” as images of the Jan. 6 insurrection are displayed on screen.