Music-streaming platform Spotify removed PragerU’s advertisements from its platform, noting the content does not comply with the company’s editorial policies, The Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.
“Our policy team has re-reviewed the ads that you have submitted through Ad Studio and determined that the content of the ads do not comply with our editorial policies,” Spotify noted in an email to PragerU.
TheDCNF saw a copy of the email, which also alludes to other noncompliance issues.
“chaOur policy team has made the decision to stop all existing ads and not approve new ads coming through in the future. Please let us know if you have any questions or require further clarification,” the email adds.
Most of the ads are tame and direct listeners to click on the conservative group’s website to learn more about “intersectionality” and other social issues.
PragerU frequently complains about censorship on YouTube and other social media platforms. The group filed a lawsuit in 2017 against Google and Google-owned YouTube, alleging unlawful censorship. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Google Employees Debated Burying Media In Search)
Spotify Bans PragerU from Advertising
BREAKING: After only a few weeks of advertising, Spotify has completely banned PragerU ads, noting that it will "stop all existing ads and not approve any new ads coming through in the future." This blatant bias against conservatives can't continue. Sign our petition to stop Big Tech censorship: stoponlinecensorship.com
Posted by PragerU on Friday, January 25, 2019
“Every day, PragerU is changing culture with online content that teaches the values that make America the freest and most prosperous nation on earth. Millions of Americans are watching our videos, and minds are changing. We cannot let that stop,” PragerU wrote in an email attached to the memo.
“The Left knows how effective we are. That’s why they want to censor us,” the group’s email added.
Spotify has not yet responded to TheDCNF’s repeated requests for comment about the nature of the ads or the reason for the expulsion.
The ads ran from Jan. 5 to Jan. 24, according to PragerU’s Chief Marketing Officer Craig Strazzeri.
“The whole reason we wanted to be on Spotify is to reach a whole different type of audience. We reached more than 1 million people since January 5 through Jan. 24,” he told TheDCNF.
Silicon Valley companies have faced similar complaints about censorship. Google, for one, abandoned a program in December 2018 aimed at developing a censored search engine for China after employees complained that the plan was not being publicly disclosed.
Internal fighting within the company effectively ended work on Dragonfly, a search engine the company was creating to comport with China’s censorship laws. CEO Sundar Pichai placed the program high on his list of priorities — that’s likely to change.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.