#CancelHulu trends after Hulu blocks Democrats' ads about abortion, guns
BRAZIL - 2021/09/05: In this photo illustration the Hulu logo seen displayed on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - Hulu is refusing to run ads about abortion, gun control and other main Democratic campaign themes, according to reports.
The move sparked outage on Twitter Tuesday.
"We’re calling on @Hulu to reverse this policy that is blocking Americans from getting information about some of the most critical issues in this midterm election," read a tweet from @SenateDemocrats on Monday.
Disney owns the popular streaming platform, Hulu, which offers an ad-supported plan for subscribers.
According to The Washington Post, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Governors Association attempted to buy joint ads with Hulu, ESPN, and a Disney-affiliated ABC station on July 15. While the ads on the ESPN and ABC station aired, Hulu's did not.
Some of these ads criticized Republican policies directly, and discussed topics such as abortion and guns, reported The Post. None of the ads used violent imagery.
Earlier this month, New York Democratic Congress candidate, Suraj Patel, published a letter stating that Hulu refused to air his campaign ad because it was too "sensitive," reported Jezebel. Hulu reportedly requested that Patel change his opening phrase "from abortion rights to gun laws to climate change" to include "permissible" topics instead.
The 2022 general midterm election is Nov. 8.