The Republican-aligned Senate Leadership Fund says Disney rated some ads TV-MA, limiting their reach on Hulu and other Disney streaming services in Senate races in Ohio, North Carolina and Alaska. It says at least two-thirds of its planned Ohio advertising is affected.
SLF says it budgeted at least $3.6 million for the affected Ohio streaming ads through Election Day and expects more than $2.6 million in projected spending to be lost because of the restrictions. Two ads criticize Sherrod Brown’s position on transgender medical care for minors; one features detransitioner Soren Aldaco, who says she underwent hormone treatments and a double mastectomy after being told as a minor that she was transgender. The ad accuses Brown of supporting “sex change surgery for minors”; Brown says treatment decisions for children should be left to families and doctors, not politicians.
In North Carolina, SLF says an ad narrated by the father of a murdered college-age woman was blocked from 75% of Hulu programming. Its campaign materials separately describe its ads as focused on Democratic Senate candidate Roy Cooper having “released violent criminals.” SLF says Disney is the only major streaming company applying the restrictions and contends Republican ads on cultural issues have been disproportionately affected. Newsmax said it sought comment from Disney and SLF.
