Advertisers Assert Washington Post Refuses to Publish "Dismiss Elon Musk" Campaign
Yesterday's Washington Post edition was supposed to carry a clear-cut message: Oust Elon Musk. Two advocacy groups teamed up to secure ad space, aiming to plaster the paper with this demand. However, according to one of the involved groups talking to The Hill, the Post changed its mind and decided against running the message on the paper's exterior.
Common Cause, a non-profit watchdog, partnered with the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund for the advertisement. They informed The Hill that they had agreed to spend $115,000 for full-coverage ads on the front and back pages of the Wednesday Washington Post issue, as well as a full-page ad inside the paper. These ads were intended for distribution among Congress, Pentagon, and White House personnel.
Yet, once the groups submitted their desired messaging, the Post declined to run it. The ad department agreed to keep the internal ad, but the exterior ones were a no-go, according to Common Cause, who were left without a clear rationale for the cancellation.
The planned exterior ads would have featured an image of Elon Musk chuckling, casting a shadow over the White House, with the caption "Who's running this country: Donald Trump or Elon Musk?" The back page would have showcased another Musk image with the simple statement "No one elected Elon Musk to any office."
This was an extension of Common Cause, Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund, and End Citizens United's "Fire Elon Musk" campaign. They have already collected 60,000 signatures for a petition challenging Musk's unofficial government role.
Curiously, the Post's owner, Jeff Bezos, has been strengthening his ties with Musk lately. The two shared a spot at Donald Trump's inauguration and even exchanged pleasantries on Twitter after a successful Blue Origin reusable rocket launch.
Bezos has also established a rapport with Trump. He congratulated Trump on his 2024 election win, they dined at Mar-a-Lago shortly afterwards, and Amazon donated $1 million to Trump's election campaign, while Amazon Prime Video licensed a documentation about Melania Trump for nearly $30 million.
Meanwhile, the Post dropped a political cartoon that depicted Bezos and other billionaires offering money at Trump's alter. Again, these occurrences might be unrelated, but worth considering, as some suspect. After all, the Post once declared "Democracy dies in darkness," but it never specified whether that was good or bad!
- The advocacy groups' planned advertisement in The Washington Post, aimed at ousting Elon Musk, contained an image of Musk chuckling and casting a shadow over the White House, implying a question about who truly leads the country.
- The future of the 'Fire Elon Musk' campaign, spearheaded by Common Cause, Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund, and End Citizens United, relies on the impact of their advertisement, specifically the one intended for distribution among high-level officials.
- The Washington Post's decision to decline the controversial advertisement, featuring Elon Musk, might have been influenced by its owner, Jeff Bezos, who has been forging close relationships with Musk and Donald Trump, both on personal and business levels.
- The tech industry's influence extends to advertisement spaces like the Washington Post, making the lack of clear explanation about the advertisement cancellation almost as consequential as the intended message itself, given the power of tech bosses like Musk and Bezos in the digital age.
