Hulu is walking back on its original rejection of a church’s advertisement, now saying that it may promote an ad on the streaming service.
Hulu initially rejected the advertisement from Fort Worth’s Hulun Street Church, claiming it violated “religious indoctrination” policies.
After First Liberty Institute demanded clarification of the policy on behalf of the church, Hulu accepted the ads.
“Although Hulu posts advertising policies online, its policies do not mention the words ‘Religious Indoctrination,’ nor do they prohibit it. Despite being accepted as an approved advertiser on the platform, Hulen Street Church first learned Hulu even had such a policy when Hulu invoked it to reject the Church’s Thursday night service ad,” First Liberty wrote in a letter. “It is reasonable to assume, given Hulu’s opacity, that Hulu may have made the ‘rule’ up to address the Church’s ad. Or, perhaps, it simply failed to properly train and/or supervise an employee charged with reviewing such advertisements. Regardless, Hulu should not be able to exclude religious ads without giving prospective advertisers adequate information up front about what policies exist and may apply.”
“We are grateful to Hulu for its quick response to our demand letter and for accepting Hulen Street Church’s ad,” First Liberty senior counsel Jeremy Dys said in a statement. “In the future, Hulu—and others in Big Tech—could avoid these kinds of conflicts by adopting advertising policies that do not discriminate against religious organizations, being transparent about its advertising policy, and applying it fairly.”
The ad featured on the platform is below:
