Buzzfeed Cancels Ad Deal With RNC Over Trump Candidacy

BuzzFeed has terminated an ad deal with the Republican National Committee over the candidacy of Donald Trump, CEO Jonah Peretti announced in an email to employees Monday.

“Earlier today, BuzzFeed informed the RNC that we would not accept Trump for President ads and that we would be terminating our agreement with them,” he wrote. “The Trump campaign is directly opposed to the freedoms of our employees in the United States and around the world and in some cases, such as his proposed ban on international travel for Muslims, would make it impossible for our employees to do their jobs.”

“We certainly don’t like to turn away revenue that funds all the important work we do across the company,” Peretti continued. “However, in some cases we must make business exceptions: we don’t run cigarette ads because they are hazardous to our health, and we won’t accept Trump ads for the exact same reason.”

Editor-in-chief Ben Smith then sent a follow-up email clarifying that the move would have no effect on Buzzfeed’s editorial policy towards the Trump campaign. “This was Jonah’s call, and the prerogative of a publisher,” he wrote.

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