Breitbart News advertiser exodus sees 2,600 cease association with right-wing portal
Breitbart News may have regained its combative chairman Steve Bannon following his abrupt departure from the Trump White House but it is also nursing the loss of close to 2,600 advertisers - scared off by its virulently right-wing agenda and a grassroots boycott campaign.
Breitbart was named as one of the most mistrusted news sites in America
The latest estimate of advertisers to have cut ties with Breitbart comes from Sleeping Giants, the campaign group spearheading the boycott call, which has been piling on pressure against the site amid escalating political tensions in the US.
The controversial news platform has never been far from the headlines itself since last year’s surprise election of Donald Trump as president, notably with the resignation of senior editor Milo Yiannopoulos following remarks that appeared to condone pedophilia.
Pressure is now building on Amazon to follow the likes of Kellogg's, BMW and Deutsche Telekom by ending its indirect association with the site by purchasing ad space from exchanges that include Breitbart.
A petition launched by SumofUs to force just such a change in policy is now approaching 590,000 signatories.
Breitbart was named as one of the most mistrusted news sites in America (along with BuzzFeed and Occupy Democrats) in a recent survey of media perceptions.