In a bold move backing progressive values, Kellogg’s on Tuesday announced it would remove all of its advertisements from the so-called “white supremacy” website Breitbart—a media outlet known for proselytizing extreme, discriminatory stances on social and political issues.
Kellogg’s asserted in a statement that Breitbart does not “align with [their] values as a company,” joining a list of brands—including Target, Allstate, Nest, EarthLink, Warby Parker and SoFi—that refuse to further financially back Breitbart’s messages of misogyny, bigotry, racism, homophobia and anti-Semitism. Also tellingly, AppNexus Inc., one of the largest digital advertising services, barred Breitbart earlier this month from using its ad-serving tools because the site violated its hate-speech rules.
In a predictable foot-stomping reaction to Kellogg’s ad removal—which the cereal maker said stemmed from customer complaints—Breitbart is now calling for a boycott of Kellogg’s products. Breitbart’s staff and followers have taken to social media to spread the hashtag #DumpKelloggs as part of their deplorable scheme to take down Kellogg’s, all because the company eschewed the site’s anti-LGBTQ, white supremacist, xenophobic positions. In a stunning display of irony and hypocrisy that would be laughable if it wasn’t so damn scary, Breitbart is also urging its readers to “ban bigotry from the breakfast table” by signing an online petition against Kellogg’s. The cereal company now needs our help and support so they’re aware of just how much fair-minded Americans appreciate their zero-tolerance stance against hate speech.
We need to do our best to halt this hashtag and boycott from gaining ground. Corporations who operate on the premise of progressive values deserve our support and our dollars, and we must have their backs when they clearly demonstrate that they have ours. Companies like Kellogg’s, in exercising their right to withdraw advertising money from whomever they feel doesn’t deserve it, will continue to incur the wrath of venomously suppressive Breitbart and its lemmings—just for adhering to principles of progress and freedom of speech (and spending). Breitbart and their minions’ tiresome tantrum shows not their strength, but their weakness: They feel threatened by ideological diversity, and by blacklisting Breitbart, Kellogg’s and like-minded corporations are telling the site in no uncertain terms that spewing hatred and bigotry in this country still comes with consequences, including financial ones.
So, what can we do to tell Kellogg’s we stand with them as they’re targeted by Breitbart for acting their conscience? Most obviously, keep buying those name-brand Cornflakes, but let’s all take to social media to add our community’s voices and ensure that Breitbart doesn’t hijack the conversation. Some Twitter users have adopted the hashtag #DumpKelloggsInABowl or #DumpBreitbart to combat the insidious boycott hashtag. Others are using #BreitbartCereals as a means to cleverly mock the ludicrous boycott and the hate site’s anti-values.
Most importantly, tweet @KelloggsUS or, better yet, take a few minutes out of your day to call the company at 1-800-962-1413 to thank them for their refusal to tolerate bigotry (we guarantee you plenty of so-called “white supremacyers” are finding the time to harass them!). We called Kellogg, and they were absolutely delighted to hear from us. So let’s all step up, folks. Progressive corporate allies are vital to us in this divided nation, and Kellogg’s has proven they’re one of them. Now they need us to show and tell them we think, in the words of Tony the Tiger, “They’re Gr-r-reat!”
What Do You Think?