MSNBC says it has rejected a TV ad calling for a boycott of Target Corp. over a political donation in Minnesota.
MSNBC spokeswoman Alana Russo says the commercial submitted by the liberal group MoveOn.org violates its advertising policy by directly attacking an individual business.
MoveOn announced plans earlier this week to spend $35,000 airing the ad on MSNBC nationally and on three networks in the Twin Cities. The group says the stations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market are running the ad.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal, which operates MSNBC cable.)
MoveOn head Justin Ruben says the rejection is "the height of hypocrisy."
Minneapolis-based Target last month donated $150,000 to a political fund supporting conservative GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer in Minnesota. That triggered a national backlash from gay rights groups and liberals.