Porter Airlines pulls ads from The Rebel news site

Porter Airlines has joined a string of Canadian companies pulling its advertisements from The Rebel, a conservative media website which has carried articles opposing immigration and questioning climate change science.

The Toronto-based airline said Wednesday the decision was made after it became aware that its ads were appearing on the site, run by media personality Ezra Levant.

Porter’s removal of the advertisements drew praise and scorn on social media, with some supporters of The Rebel vowing to boycott the airline over the decision.

In an interview, Levant said he was disappointed that Porter was “caving in” to political pressure from an anonymous group on Twitter that has been notifying businesses in the U.S. and Canada that their ads were appearing on The Rebel and U.S. media site Breitbart.

“These Canadian companies are panicking,” Levant said, adding that the decisions do not significantly impact his site’s revenue.

“If they’re not there, it’s just the next advertiser in line. It makes no difference for us financially,” said Levant, who was well-known for his commentary on the nowdefunct Sun News Network.

Branding and marketing strategist Tony Chapman noted that consumers are now more prepared to call out brands for associating with companies or ideology they do not agree with.

“With social media, we have given the consumer a choice to be part of the conversation,” said Chapman. “If the consumer is part of the conversation they can get incredibly vocal.”