Fox News rejects liberal group’s ad on Jan. 6 insurrection

Fox News has rejected an advertisement from a liberal group about the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. 

The ad from the liberal group MeidasTouch included testimonials from officers who recounted their experiences from the attack, which interrupted the counting of the Electoral College votes by Congress. It criticized Republicans for downplaying the attack.

The co-founders of MeidasTouch criticized the Fox decision, and have publicized it to get more attention for the ad.

We made a $184,854 TV buy with this ad on Fox News this week. Fox News just denied airing our ad. Retweet and get it out in every corner of the country. pic.twitter.com/EBz1G2paLv

— MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) June 6, 2021

Ben Meiselas, one of the group’s co-founders, said the group had been told over the phone that the ad would not be aired. He said Fox had never previously said no to an ad without first suggesting edits.

But a Fox News spokesperson said the claim that it had not turned down previous ads from the PAC was incorrect.

Media companies have the discretion to turn down ads for a host of reasons. 

CNN media reporter Brian Stelter, a frequent critic of Fox, in his newsletter said the complaint looked like a bid for attention.