Washington: The digital news group BuzzFeed said Monday it terminated an advertising deal with the Republican Party to protest presumptive nominee Donald Trump's policy positions, forgoing a reported $1.3 million.
A memo from BuzzFeed chief executive Jonah Peretti reproduced on the news site said it had informed the Republican National Committee "that we would not accept Trump for President ads and that we would be terminating our agreement with them."
"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," Peretti said in the memo to staff.
Peretti noted that "we certainly don't like to turn away revenue that funds all the important work we do across the company" but added that "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."
BuzzFeed did not estimate the amount of revenue lost but rival news organization Politico said the deal would be worth some $1.3 million.
This is not the first time BuzzFeed has directly expressed opposition to Trump.
In December, editor-in-chief Ben Smith told staff in a memo that it was "entirely fair" to refer to Trump as a "mendacious racist" because "he's out there saying things that are false, and running an overtly anti-Muslim campaign."
