Activists Take On Breitbart’s Funding – Here’s How You Can Help (VIDEO/TWEETS)

By
Seamus O'Malley
-

Breitbart, the homepage of racism that claims to be “mainstream,” and which gave serial trolls like Milo Yiannopoulos and fascists like Steve Bannon their first outlets, has become one of the most polarizing sites on the internet. Hosting hate-mongering opinion articles, headlined in all caps and presented as news, Breitbart’s greatest hits make it sound like a satire site:

Unfortunately, millions of readers find the site’s “honesty” refreshing. Breitbart is one of the most trafficked sites on the web in the United States.

However, because Breitbart does not charge a subscription fee like some legitimate news outlets do, most of its revenue comes from advertisements on its site. These ads appear in the banners and sidebars of the site from Google AdSense. AdSense is an automated advertising program that links companies who want to advertise online with sites, like Breitbart, who want to “lease” space on their webpages to advertisers for a fee. Importantly, advertisers who use AdSense have only a limited say in where their ads go, and are often unaware of the sites they advertise on.

Brietbart’s reliance on these ads for money make it vulnerable: Should their advertisers blacklist Breitbart on their AdSense plan, they’d lose all of that advertising revenue.

Now, an open group of activists called Sleeping Giants is making that happen.

The game plan is simple: Notify advertisers that their companies are being seen alongside – and therefore associated with – racist statements and Nazi propaganda.

https://twitter.com/thethrillary/status/827590001697361921

Most companies are disgusted by the hate speech and fascist materials. They yank their ads from the site and blacklist it from future ad buys.

Breitbart loses money with each advertiser that leaves. And that list is growing.

Helping Sleeping Giants tackle racism, fascism, and dangerous conspiracy theories is easy, too. All you need is a Twitter account. Here’s how:

1. Go to one of Breitbart’s most absurd articles.

Take your pick from one of the site’s many racist, sexist, homophobic, fascist, or white nationalist articles:

If you don’t want to have such a hate-filled site in your browser history, use an incognito window or your browser’s stealth mode.

2. Take a screenshot.

Make sure the screenshot includes the hate-filled headline and the advertisement.

3. Tweet the screenshot to the company, tagging Sleeping Giants.

Log onto Twitter and tweet your screenshot. Tag both the company’s profile and Sleeping Giants (@slpng_giants) so they get notified of your tweet. Include a polite message that tells the company that their ad appeared on Breitbart.

Every time someone does this, another company will be put on notice that their advertisements are being used to fund the so-called “alt-right movement.” Most businesses realize just how bad this is, and will stop posting their ads, there. As they continue to leave, Breitbart’s revenue stream runs dry.

 

Featured Image: Screenshot Via Twitter.

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