With President-elect Donald Trump appointing the former chairman of Breitbart, Steve Bannon, in a top role in his administration, the so called alt-right digital publication has come under attack by a liberal Trump-hating Twitter user who is attempting to destroy the popular conservative news site with a coordinated campaign attacking its advertisers by claiming they are “racist.”
Launched in November, the activist offers this description of its activities: “We are trying to stop racist websites by stopping their ad dollars. Many companies don’t even know it’s happening. It’s time to tell them.”
Ironically, while Sleeping Giants accuses Breitbart of being a “racist” site, the Twitter account features raised black fists that resemble those used in 1969 posters of the Black Panther Party. A similar fist, though typically white, was used to symbolize white power, and another red version represented leftist Autonnomist Marxism, Chelsea Shilling, WND reports.
The blog DigiDay says, “The creator of the account said he would prefer to remain anonymous to avoid being harassed by Trump supporters on the internet. He said he started the account because fake news and disinformation, are, in his opinion, two of the reasons why the election turned out in favor of Trump.”
- David Plouffe, political strategist and 2008 presidential campaign manager for President Obama
- Dan Pfeiffer, former senior adviser for President Obama
- Jon Favreau, Obama’s chief speechwriter
- Jon Lovett, Obama speechwriter who worked three years at the White House drafting speeches on public policy
- Michael Skolnik, official surrogate for President Obama during the 2012 re-election campaign
- Tommy Vietor, Obama’s former national security spokesman
- Sarah Silverman, an actress and comedian who spoke at the Democratic National Convention in support of Hillary Clinton
- Nicholas Reville, founder of PCCulture.org, an organization that lists leftist billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Institute among its “major funders”
- Shannon Coulter, a tech and media marketing specialist who boycotted the Ivanka Trump Collection fashion line and demanded that Macy’s, Nordstrom, Amazon, Lord & Taylor, Marshalls and Zappos stop selling Ivanka’s clothing
- Rachel Maddow, TV host of MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show”
- Michael Moore, leftist activist and filmmaker who backed the presidential campaigns of both Obama and Hillary
- Janine Gibson, editor in chief of BuzzFeed UK
- Brian Stelter, a CNN host who has attacked Trump for what he said are “dangerous” lies about a “rigged” election and dismissed Hillary health concerns as “conspiracy theories online promoted by conservative websites”
- Stephen Colbert, “The Late Show” host, a Democrat who has been accused of having a deeply liberal bent that is “unremittingly hostile to Republicans”
- Lucia Moses, senior editor at DigiDay, a marketing blog that is promoting the Sleeping Giants campaign. Moses has accused ad networks of funding “fake news” online
- Ana Marie Cox, MTV news correspondent, contributor to the left-leaning Daily Beast and former editor at Time and Mother Jones
- Mike Cagney, former Wells Fargo derivatives trader and founder and CEO of online lender SoFi
- Joshua Green, national correspondent for Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg Politics
- Nandini Jammi, head of growth at ProdPad, a company that sells product management software
As of Thursday, Sleeping Giants was targeting the following companies, demanding that they ban their ads from appearing on Breitbart: American Express, LG, Jeep, Zillow, Epson, Revlon, Dollar General, Kohl’s, Gap, Ralph Lauren, Sprint, Guitar Center, Famous Footwear, PayPal, Frontgate, Citi, Burlington Coat Factory, WebMD, Canon, SiriusXM, Vistaprint, Walgreens, BMW, Zulily, Hotels.com, Kia, Pottery Barn, Volvo, Toys “R” Us, NFL, American Legion, Purina, Samsung, Whole Foods, T-Mobile, Staples and dozens more.
https://twitter.com/jewsteenie/status/804726340855496705
@American_Cruise Is this the type of place you want your company name? Read some of the comments from their supporters. @slpng_giants pic.twitter.com/Fogv4aQzBU
— Metsanity (@Metsanity1122) December 2, 2016
@Hillsdale Your ads are on racist, alt-right site Breitbart. In opposition to your stated mission! Please reconsider! @slpng_giants can help pic.twitter.com/wgvzXsSVRs
— Sarah Wessell (@sywessell) December 2, 2016
@sprint Your ads are appearing on Breitbart, a white nationalist hate site. Please consider opting out. Ty! @slpng_giants pic.twitter.com/lQp8jCXjqN
— Breemuda (@Breemuda) December 2, 2016
Other companies
As of Thursday, Sleeping Giants claims other companies have dropped advertising on Breitbart, including:
- 3M
- AAA SoCal
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- AARP
- Aqua Carpatica
- Avvo
- Blue Sound Hifi
- BOMBAS
- Chasing Fireflies
- Conrad CH
- Earthlink
- El Torito
- Finlandia Cheese
- Galaxus
- Harry Rosen Inc.
- L’Occitane
- Madison Reed
- Miele
- MM Lafleur
- Mod Cloth
- Monogram Appliances
- Moz
- MVMT watches
- One Month
- Paperless Post
- Post Schweiz
- Rapid Release Technology
- Rhone
- Saddleback Bags
- Salsify
- Shinola
- SoFi
- The Good Chocolate
- The Land of Nod
- The Webby Awards
- Touch of Modern
- U.S. Bank
- Udi’s Gluten Free
- Vanguard Group
- Wildfang
- Workable
- Xero
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