ATLANTA: Fox News show host Laura Ingraham announced on her show late on Friday that she is taking the week off, with many advertisers dropping her show after the conservative pundit mocked a teenage survivor of the Florida school
massacre on Twitter.
At least 12 companies have pulled their ads after a pushback by Parkland student David Hogg, 17, who called for a boycott of her advertisers.
The latest company to drop Ingraham’s show, “The Ingraham Angle,” was the international pharmaceutical giant Bayer.
The company said on Saturday on Twitter: “We have stopped advertising on Laura Ingraham and we have no plans to resume any time in the future.”
A Fox News Channel spokes-woman said Ingraham was taking a pre-planned spring vacation with her children.
Hogg took aim at the host’s show after she taunted him on Twitter on March 28, accusing him of whining about being rejected by four colleges to which he had applied.
Hogg is a survivor of the Feb. 14 mass shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Parkland suburb of Fort Lauderdale. He and other classmates have become the faces of a new youth-led movement calling for tighter restrictions on firearms.
Hogg tweeted a list of a dozen companies that advertise on “The Ingraham Angle” and urged his supporters to demand that they cancel their ads.
On Thursday, Ingraham tweeted an apology, saying she was sorry for any hurt or upset she had caused Hogg or any of the “brave victims” of Parkland.
But her apology did not stop companies from departing.
The other companies announcing that they are canceling their ads are: Nutrish, the pet food line created by celebrity chef Rachael Ray; travel website TripAdviser; online home furnishings seller Wayfair; the world’s largest packaged food company, Nestle; online streaming service Hulu; travel website Expedia Group Inc.; and online personal shopping service Stitch Fix.
According to CBS News, four other companies joined the list on Friday: the home office supply store Office Depot, the dieting company Jenny Craig, the Atlantis Paradise Island resort, and Johnson & Johnson which produces pharmaceuticals as well as consumer products such as Band-Aids, Neutrogena beauty products and Tylenol.
Hogg wrote on Twitter that an apology simply to mollify advertisers was insufficient.
Ingraham’s show runs on Fox News, part of Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox.
Fox host on the run as advertisers flee amid controversy over Twitter remarks
Fox host on the run as advertisers flee amid controversy over Twitter remarks
Saudi Arabia strengthens global ranking in 2026 Soft Power Index
- UAE maintains 10th place, Qatar climbs 2 spots
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia climbed three positions to 17th place in this year’s Soft Power Index, released on Tuesday by marketing consultancy Brand Finance.
Other Gulf nations also performed well, with the UAE maintaining its 10th-place ranking and Qatar and Bahrain each climbing two spots to No. 20 and No. 49, respectively, marking a rebound for the region after a softer showing in 2025.
The report indicates that the performance reflects sustained investment in proactive diplomacy, economic diversification and expanded initiatives across culture, tourism and sports.
It also comes at a time when several Western powers are recording declines in their rankings, highlighting the growing influence of Gulf states.
“The UAE remains a clear regional leader, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar have strengthened their global positions through focused economic diplomacy and international engagement,” said Savio D’Souza, managing director for the Middle East and Africa, Brand Finance.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE either maintained or improved their rankings across all key pillars, including familiarity, reputation and influence.
The Kingdom recorded notable gains, with increases of 25 points in the People & Values pillar and 12 points in the Culture & Heritage pillar.
“Although perceptions across some markets remain mixed, renewed upward movement in the rankings suggests that targeted, long-term soft power strategies are beginning to pay off,” D’Souza said.
Globally, the US retained its top position despite recording the steepest overall decline in its score, followed by China in second place. Japan rose to third place, overtaking the UK, which ranked fourth, while Germany placed fifth.
Brand Finance defines “soft power” as a “nation’s ability to influence the preferences and behaviors of various actors in the international arena (states, corporations, communities, publics, etc.) through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion.”
Each nation is assessed across 55 individual metrics, producing an overall score out of 100 and a ranking from first to 193rd.
