NEW YORK (AP) - Financial services firm USAA is adding itself to the list of companies that have pulled advertising from Sean Hannity’s Fox News Channel show.
But the company, which caters to members of the U.S. military and their families, says the move had nothing to do with pressure on Hannity’s advertisers. Some groups have called for an advertiser boycott after Hannity’s focus on a discredited story involving a murdered Democratic National Committee employee. On Wednesday, Hannity he would no longer talk about the story of murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich.
USAA said Thursday it has a policy not to advertise on any opinion-based programing.
“There was an error which led to our ads running during certain opinion-based programs, and as soon as that was discovered, the error was corrected,” the San Antonio, Texas-based company said. “We will continually review our ad placements to ensure we are consistent with our policy.”
Liberal lobby group Media Matters for America lists six other advertisers that announced they are leaving Hannity, including Cars.com and Crown Plaza Hotels. Hannity has accused Media Matters of mounting a campaign to silence him, which the group denied.
Hannity is the sole survivor from Fox’s once stable and powerful prime-time lineup. He has been a strong backer of President Donald Trump and believes the president is under attack from media and opponents who want to destroy him.
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