At least five companies have pulled ads after Sean Hannity’s perpetuation of a conspiracy theory.
Several companies have pulled adverts from Fox News host Sean Hannity’s show after his coverage of a debunked election murder conspiracy.
At least five firms have cancelled commercials, despite Mr Hannity’s pledge to drop the topic on-air.
Fox has retracted their story, which claimed a Democratic National Committee employee was shot because he passed emails to Wikileaks.
Washington DC police suspect Seth Rich was gunned down in a botched robbery.
Companies that have ditched the Sean Hannity Show are Cars.com, the United Services Automobile Association, home-security company Ring, Crowne Plaza Hotels, Peloton bicycles, and mattress companies Leesa Sleep and Casper.
In a statement to Buzzfeed, Cars.com said « we’ve been watching closely and have recently made the decision to pull our advertising from Hannity ».
The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) tweeted their decision to an online follower saying: « Thank you for sharing your concern.
« Advertising on opinion shows is not in accordance with our policy and we’ve since corrected it. »
Earlier this week Mr Hannity announced on his primetime show that he would stop talking about Mr Rich’s unsolved murder after the victim’s parents implored him to drop the subject.
« I did it out of my own heart, » Mr Hannity said. « Nobody tells me what to say on my show. »
He later tweeted: « Ok TO BE CLEAR, I am closer to the TRUTH than ever. Not only am I not stopping, I am working harder. Updates when available. Stay tuned ».
Fox’s head of programming asked Mr Hannity to stop mentioning the murder, CNN reported.
Liberal watchdog Media Matters For America published a list of more than 100 companies that have advertised on Mr Hannity’s programme, encouraging viewers to call in support of a boycott.
Mr Hannity accused the organisation of « liberal fascism » and « targeting my advertisers to silence my voice ».
On Wednesday Fox host Kimberly Guilfoyle announced Mr Hannity was going on holiday and that she would replace him on-air for the rest of the week.
« Like the rest of the country, Sean Hannity is taking a vacation for Memorial Day weekend and will be back on Tuesday, » a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement.
« Those who suggest otherwise are going to look foolish. »
Former Fox host Bill O’Reilly was also targeted in an advertising boycott over several sexual harassment claims, shortly before he went on holiday never to return.
