DEMONETIZED: Steve Bannon podcast faces uphill battle as advertising networks cut off platform access
It’s not been a great week for the bad boys of right-wing media. First, we learned that InfoWars‘ conspiracy theorist-in-chief Alex Jones has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at his three main media companies. And now comes the news that War Room: Pandemic, the podcast hosted by former Trump campaign manager and unrepentant White nationalist Steve Bannon, has been dropped by three online major advertising exchanges in the past month, putting its ability to generate ad dollars to continue funding the program in jeopardy.
A non-profit group called the Check My Ads Institute reported today that Yahoo will no longer include Performance One Media, the production company behind Bannon’s War Room: PandemicĀ podcast, among the clients for whom they provide the placement of revenue-generating ads.
The Check My Ads Institute reported Yahoo’s decision in a celebratory tweet.
CONFIRMED: @Yahoo has dropped Performance One Media, the company that hosts Steve Bannon's War Room: Pandemic, from its inventory. š¾ pic.twitter.com/DtWgA8tY44
— Check My Ads (@CheckMyAdsHQ) April 18, 2022
During the past month, Bannon’s podcast lost access to other revenue streams when two different ad exchanges ā Media Net and Freewheel, an affiliate of Comcast ā decided to cut off Real America’s Voice, the 24-hour streaming network that prominently features War Room: PandemicĀ on its daily schedule, from their services.
While Bannon will still be able to raise money through private donations and through smaller ad networks, the latest moves could threaten the long-term financial viability of his podcast venture.
The financing of his podcast may be the least of Bannon’s troubles right now, however. Charged with contempt of Congress for his refusal to testify before the House Select Committee on January 6th, claiming that he is protected by Donald Trump’s expired executive privilege, Bannon is scheduled to go to trial in July on these contempt charges that are not covered by the odiferous last-minute pardon he received for his crimes in bilking money from a fund meant to finance the construction of Trump’s ludicrous border wall.
Bannon filed a motion last Friday with the judge in the criminal contempt case to dismiss the charges, claiming that the House Committee is an invalid organization and that the Justice Department under the Trump administration had agreed that he was protected by executive privilege. It is a position that the Justice Department under the current Biden administration strongly disagrees with.
Hopefully, the judge will affirm the current Justice Department’s position in the case and Steve Bannon will again be forced to go to trial in July.
Bannon’s travails also hopefully are a sign that the tide is turning against the type of right-wing media outlets that consistently cry “fake news” while being the primary source of it.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.
Original reporting byĀ Check My Ads.
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