NBC is refusing to broadcast an ad critical of China during the 2022 Winter Olympic games in Beijing, a US congressman says.
The 30-second spot, purchased by Florida GOP Rep. Mike Waltz, blasted the event as the “Genocide Games,” referenced China’s long history of human-rights abuses, and called out major US companies for participating.
Waltz, the first Green Beret to serve in Congress, has long been a tough China critic. He billed the $40,000 ad to his campaign.
“This is the equivalent of holding the Olympics in Germany in the 1940s or Rwanda during their atrocities,” Waltz told The Post. “It is beyond the pale that the [International Olympic Committee] didn’t move the games.”
The ad pointedly highlighted companies for their business relationships with China, including Visa, Coca-Cola, Nike, Intel, Procter & Gamble and more.
“I think the companies supporting it should be absolutely ashamed,” the Florida lawmaker said. “Many of them preach social justice and contribute millions of dollars to social justice causes and yet are turning a blind eye to the genocide going on. Many of them are complicit with their own supply chains.”
The spot also featured Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter Freedom, a Swiss-born Turk who became a US citizen in November, urging viewers to “stand for freedom” and “defund the dictators.”
The ad ended with Waltz and Kanter telling Americans to avoid products made in China: “When you see made in China, put it down.”
NBC on Friday killed the ad, which was to air in Washington, DC, this coming Monday night during Olympic coverage.
“NBC will not run our ad unless we remove the corporate logos of companies,” Waltz spokesman James Hewitt told The Post, adding they refuse to alter the 30-second spot.
NBC disputed Hewitt’s characterization of the situation.
“The ad was not rejected. Per NBCUniversal’s long-standing advertising guidelines, changes to the ad were requested so it could air,” a network spokesman said.
“It defeats a major purpose of the ad: to highlight US sponsors’ culpability with China’s human rights abuses,” said Hewitt. “The point of the ad was to target Olympic audiences in DC.”
China — the world’s second largest economy — has drawn international criticism in for its treatment of Uyghur Muslim minorities in the western province of Xinjiang. The country has been accused of interning up to a million Uyghurs in labor and reeducation camps. Many have recounted stories of brutal mistreatment including rape and forced sterilization.
https://nypost.com/2022/02/05/nbc-refusing-to-run-ad-critical-of-china-during-olympic-games/