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Slate Report On Deleted Dove Post Shows BuzzFeed Removing Editorial Content After Advertiser Sensitivity

This archived screenshot preserves a Slate article by Elliot Hannon titled “BuzzFeed Blows Up Its Own Editorial Guide in Order to Delete a Post About a Dove Soap Ad”, published on 10 April 2015. The screenshot is significant because it records BuzzFeed deleting an editorial post about a Dove advertising campaign even after its own published editorial standards said posts should not be deleted for reasons related to content, subjects or stakeholder pressure. The item forms part of the wider evidence chain on BuzzFeed’s native advertising model, where editorial, advertising, brand relationships and commercial sensitivity could overlap in ways that weakened the company’s claim to be judging others from a position of clean editorial independence. It matters because BuzzFeed later criticised CEN and its clients over viral news, accuracy and editorial standards, while BuzzFeed itself had already faced public criticism for removing posts that were likely to upset advertisers or commercial partners, including material involving Unilever-linked brands such as Dove and Axe.

Source

Part of Central European News & Mike Leidig v BuzzFeed (US Second Circuit Libel Case) – Archived Web Screenshots

Europe Media newsX CIC Published 3 May 2026 at 13:59 Source: 16 July 2016

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SlateElliot HannonBuzzFeedBen SmithDoveUnilevernative advertisingdeleted postseditorial standardsadvertiser pressurecommercial influencebrand sensitivitysponsored contentmedia ethicseditorial independenceCENMike LeidigBuzzFeed culturearchived web screenshotsource evidencelibel case evidence

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File SCREEN - BuzzFeed deletes post about women and Dove soap. - [web.archive.org].pdf · 525.3 KB Download

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