MyPillow CEO to pull ads from Fox News

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has directed his company’s ad buyer to stop placing ads on Fox News after a reported disagreement over a commercial promoting an event linked to his repeated claims of voter fraud. 

Lindell, one of the network’s largest advertising customers in recent years, wanted to place an ad promoting a cyber symposium that he is scheduled to live stream next month, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The CEO told the Journal the commercial would not have specifically mentioned claims of election fraud, but he also reportedly said the symposium would back up former President Trump’s claims of a stolen election.

Fox News confirmed in a statement to The Hill on Thursday evening that MyPillow would “pause” its ads on the network. MyPillow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“It’s unfortunate Mr. Lindell has chosen to pause his commercial time on FOX News given the level of success he’s experienced in building his brand through advertising on the number one cable news network,” a Fox spokesperson said. 

Since Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, Lindell has been one of the most prominent backers of the former president’s claims that widespread electoral fraud led to a “rigged” election that swayed it in President Biden’s favor. 

Specifically, Lindell has alleged that fraud was committed in the election by individuals manipulating voting machines, one of several unproven assertions put forward by Trump allies.

In February, voting-machine maker Dominion Voting Systems sued Lindell and MyPillow for defamation. The next month, the company filed a separate $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News for claims made about the company during its coverage of the 2020 presidential election.

In May, Fox, filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing the outlet did not invent the claims being made about the company and was just reporting on those claims.  

MyPillow spent nearly $50 million on Fox News ads in 2020, Lindell told the Journal, and he has shelled out another $19 million in the first seven months of 2021. 

Bloomberg News reported in May that an attorney who worked at the law firm Lindell used to countersue Dominion left the firm the day after the filing was made. 

Lindell earlier produced a documentary titled “Absolute Proof” about his claims of voter fraud that aired on far-right news network One America News. A disclaimer ran on that network before the documentary aired that read: “The statements and claims expressed in this program are presented at this time as opinions only and are not intended to be taken or interpreted by the viewer as established facts.”