KENTUCKY: Dem US House Candidate Pulls Ads From Sinclair Station Over Mandated Pro-Trump Propaganda

Posted this afternoon to the Facebook page for Democratic US House candidate Amy McGrath, who is challenging GOP Kentucky incumbent Rep. Andy Barr:

Today, I have instructed my campaign team to cease and pull all campaign advertising on WDKY-TV (Channel 56), the Sinclair-owned television station in our congressional district, as soon as possible. Sinclair’s corporate-mandated “must-read” right-wing script on its nearly 200 television stations about “fake news” is itself an extreme danger to our Democracy and eerily mimics the propaganda efforts that authoritarian regimes often use to control the media in their own country.

The nearly 20,000 grassroots donors who have contributed to my campaign should have the expectation that their financial support will never be used to enrich these chilling right-wing efforts to stifle the critical role of local journalism to advance their narrow ideological and political agenda.

I call on all Democratic candidates across the country to take a firm stand against this frightening development to our Democracy and refuse to buy advertising time on all Sinclair-owned television stations. Through the power of a boycott, and how we use our supporters’ contributions, we can stand up to this threat to our independent media and send a firm message that these actions will not be tolerated in a nation where the freedom of the press is vital.

McGrath is a retired USMC aviator and was the first female F-18 pilot to fly combat missions for the Marines.