As the left has grown incapable of consistently competing and winning in the arena of ideas, its proponents have adopted the tactic of censoring, , shaming and silencing voices that dissent from the progressive agenda.
One avenue of approach involves targeted boycotts and pressure campaigns against corporations that advertise on conservative programs, specifically opinion hosts on the Fox News Channel such as Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson, both of whom lost a significant sponsor this week.
Bayer pulls primetime ads
Pharmaceutical company Bayer is the latest corporate advertiser to succumb to the braying mob and withdraw ads from Fox News prime time programs, according to a report from the Daily Caller.
The news was first made public by a leftist activist who portrays himself as a “journalist,” Judd Legum, who announced the development in a tweet.
Legum’s excitement at what he viewed as a victory was palpable in the rest of his thread of tweets, which heralded the “proof that accountability journalism and citizen activism can materially change corporate behavior” and seemed to cheer how “devastating” the loss of Bayer as an advertiser would be.
Targeted boycott campaigns continue
The Daily Caller was unable to obtain comment or confirmation from Bayer or Fox News about the reported decision prior to publishing.
This isn’t the first time Bayer has pulled ads from Ingraham’s program, however, as the brand dumped the popular conservative pundit following a pressure campaign in March 2018. That move was made in response to a mildly mocking remark Ingraham made about David Hogg, an outspoken gun control advocate and Parkland school shooting survivor.
Bayer quietly resumed advertising on Ingraham’s program by August of 2018, however, once the manufactured controversy over Ingraham’s joke had subsided.
The targeted boycotts and pressure campaigns against Ingraham’s advertisers were recently renewed with vigor after the host was accused of defending an unrepentent anti-Semite, when in reality she was simply championing the broader cause of free speech in the face of increasing levels of media censorship.
Losing in the marketplace of ideas
The left is losing the war of ideas among the American people, but rather than adjust messaging or adopt better ideas, progressives have simply sought to diminish and silence the most effective voices of opposition, whether those voices are large or small.
Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson are most certainly loud and effective voices of dissent against the left, hence the concerted effort to deny their right to be heard and reduce their influence as much as possible.