Healthline Media Bans Political Ads as It Seeks to Present Unbiased Information About Political Issues

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – December 11, 2019 – Healthline Media, the No. 1 online health media property in the U.S. with 86 million monthly unique visitors, has determined it will block all political advertising from appearing on its network of properties effectively immediately.

The company’s flagship property, Healthline.com, a top source for accessible and accurate information on all things health-related, is planning a series of articles about U.S. healthcare issues related to the presidential election, complete with information about what each of the leading candidates is proposing as it relates to the healthcare system. The coverage will start with the lead-up to Super Tuesday on March 3, 2020, and continue through to Election Day in November.
 

 The company’s leadership decided it’s best to keep all political ads – which in today’s political climate can become the subject of fierce debates themselves – off Healthline properties entirely.

“Our goal is to present the most accurate and unbiased information anywhere, both when it comes to your health care and discussions about potential changes to the current healthcare system in America,” said David Kopp, Healthline Media’s President and CEO. “It’s imperative that we’re not perceived as political in any way, especially through political ads that advocate one candidate over another.”

Kopp added that to running political ads also includes the risk of spreading misinformation.  “Rather than spending time verifying the accuracy of political advertisements, we’re dedicating our resources on providing the most comprehensive evidence-based health information on the web,” Kopp said.

In addition to campaign ads, Healthline Media will block issue-related ads that are political in nature; that could include ads about family planning or related to mental health issues and violence. Healthline Media will prohibit all such ads from its properties, which, in addition to Healthline.com, include MedicalNewsToday.com and Greatist.com.

About Healthline Media

San Francisco-based Healthline Media’s mission is to empower people to be their strongest and healthiest selves by being a trusted ally in their pursuit of health and well-being. The company is one of the world’s fastest growing health information brands with online properties Healthline.com,  MedicalNewsToday.com, and Greatist.com. Healthline Media’s sites provide medically precise and socially inspired information that supports the modern health consumer with a whole-person approach to health and wellness. Healthline Media is the top ranked health publisher and number 36 overall on the Comscore top 50 media properties worldwide. Across all of its properties, Healthline Media publishes each month up to 1,000 scientifically accurate yet reader friendly articles authored by more than 120 writers and reviewed by more than 100 doctors, clinicians, nutritionists, and other experts. The company’s repository contains more than 70,000 articles, each updated with current protocol. More than 220 million people worldwide and 86 million people in the U.S. visit Healthline Media’s sites each month, according to Google Analytics and Comscore, respectively. 

Media Contact
Stacey Grimsrud
Bospar for Healthline Media
PRforhealthline@bospar.com
415.271.1028

About Healthline Media

As the #1 health media property in the US, Healthline Media reaches more than 94MM unique visitors each month (Comscore, August 2021). We provide credible health information with a compassionate approach.