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Democrats accuse Hulu of censoring their ads, Rep. Luria's office suggests company's actions are 'dangerous'

Three national Democratic committees sent advertisements with payment to multiple outlets. They were approved by every outlet except Hulu, a party official said.
Credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File
Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., listens as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, June 16, 2022. Luria and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., who will lead questioning in the closing summer hearing of the Jan. 6 committee on July 21, are from opposite parties but agree emphatically on one thing: the investigation into the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is worth sacrificing their political careers.

NORFOLK, Va. — Democrats across the country are accusing the Disney-owned streaming platform Hulu of censoring their political messaging, ahead of the crucial November midterm elections.

On July 15, three committees -- the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Governors Association -- sent ads, along with payment for their time, to Hulu, Facebook, NBC and other outlets, a national Democratic Party official told 13News Now.

After the deadly school shooting in Uvalde and the overturning of Roe v. Wade, gun safety and abortion became two of Democrat's main talking points for the midterm elections. As such, those ads focused on Republicans’ records on abortion and gun safety laws.

Hulu confirmed the receipt of payment about 10 minutes after it was sent, but on July 18, there was still no word on whether the ads would run on that platform. The ads went live on Facebook, YouTube, Roku, NBC and broadcast and cable TV, though.

On July 19, Democratic officials tried to reach out to Hulu to determine what the issue with their ad was. They were able to schedule a call with Hulu for later that day, but at the time the call was scheduled, Hulu cancelled.

On July 20, a lawyer for the Democratic committees began trying to reach Hulu through phone calls and emails.

The three committees released the statement below about the situation.

“Hulu’s censorship of the truth is outrageous, offensive, and another step down a dangerous path for our country. Voters have the right to know the facts about MAGA Republicans’ agenda on issues like abortion – and Hulu is doing a huge disservice to the American people by blocking voters from learning the truth about the GOP record or denying these issues from even being discussed.”

Jayce Genco, a spokesperson for Rep. Elaine Luria (VA-02), seemed to agree with the above statement. 

"The overwhelming majority of Americans support abortion access, any platform that censors the truth about where Republicans stand on this issue is extremely dangerous. Coastal Virginians deserve to know the truth about Jen Kiggans and just how far she and her party will go to take away and restrict reproductive rights for women," he said.

This isn't the only time Democrats have accused Hulu of censoring ads.

In May, Georgia U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux said Hulu rejected her advertisement highlighting her pro-choice stance on abortion.

"We cannot allow this kind of censorship on a major media platform, especially on this critical issue," Bourdeaux said in a statement. "Voters deserve to know that I will do everything within my power to protect access to reproductive care."

Virginia State Sen. Jen Kiggans, the Republican nominee running against Luria in November, didn't respond to emails or phone calls for this article. 

13News Now also reached out to Hulu for a comment on the situation but hasn't heard back.

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