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Donald Trump

BuzzFeed ends Republican ad deal over 'hazard' Trump

Author: BBC News
June 6, 2016 at 15:27
The BuzzFeed news website has pulled out of an advertising deal with the Republican Party in the US, saying its presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump is "hazardous to health".

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti informed staff members by email on Monday.

The ads were due to run in the coming months and had been booked before Mr Trump became the presumptive nominee.

Mr Peretti told employees the move would have "no influence" on coverage of the campaign.

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Mr Peretti wrote: "We certainly don't like to turn away revenue (...) 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."

The website Politico reported that the deal had been worth $1.3m (£900,000).

Mr Peretti's email to staff continued as follows: "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."

Mr Trump defeated 16 other candidates for the Republican nomination for president. As he built up an unassailable lead in the primaries they d-ropped out one by one and last month, he secured the backing of enough delegates to win him the nomination.

Republicans will finalise their nomination at a convention in July.

Reaction on Twitter

Jo Anne Smoot tweets: WAY TO GO BUZZ FEED NEWS!!!
@JOANNESMOOT | 
Some people tweeted their admiration and applause for BuzzFeed's move
Bae Talese tweets: ok, but the bigotry of Trump and the other candidates was perfectly obvious when Buzzfeed made the deal in April
@ELONGREEN | 
Others supported the deal but questioned the timing
Sean Davis writes: As Buzzfeed's move today shows, leftists have always believed in conscience protections, but for them, not you.
@SEANMDAV | 
But some people thought the BuzzFeed CEO's decision was hypocritical
Ryan Stilwell tweets: So Buzzfeed can do what a Christian baker can't based on personal beliefs? Whe-re's the outraged liberals?
@RYANSTILWELL13 


 It drew comparisons with the Ashers case, whe-re the Christian owners of a bakery in Northern Ireland refused to print a pro-gay marriage message on a cake and were taken to court for unlawful discrimination
Ben Howe tweets: Everyone thinks BuzzFeed pulled out of RNC deal over Trump politics. It's actually because Trump hates cats
@BENHOWE | 
One person saw the chance for a joke based on BuzzFeed's tendency to post easily-shareable lists 
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