Steve Bannon caught on video admitting Breitbart lost 90% of advertising revenue due to boycott

Far-right news outlet in 'tough financial shape', former chairman says

Steve Bannon has been caught claiming an activist-led advertising boycott of Breitbart decimated the company’s revenues.

In footage reportedly shot in London last summer during a dinner with far-right European nationalists, Mr Bannon said Breitbart was in “tough financial shape” after seeing advertising revenues plummet "90 per cent".

He credited the slump to work done by campaign group Sleeping Giants, which pressures companies into cutting ties with media it deems to be racist or sexist.

“This group called Sleeping Giants, a group of tech executives, they literally stripped out, they went and took 35 exchanges that sell the ads … 31 went away. So the ad revenues dropped like 90 per cent,” said Mr Bannon, who resigned as executive chairman of Breitbart six months before the footage was allegedly taken.

Breitbart has been contacted for comment.

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Kent Ekeroth, a senior member of the far-right Swedish Democrats, is heard saying Sleeping Giants “attacked us too” – presumably in reference to his political party – and claimed that due to pressure from the group, Google “banned us" from its ad network.

Asked how Breitbart was generating revenues, Mr Bannon said it was all generated by advertising. “I’m saying it’s in touch financial shape,” he added.

Sleeping Giants, which first shared the footage on Twitter, said the clip showed it was having a “massive effect" on Breitbart.

“This is absolutely something we never would have expected. Big thanks to Steve-O for the info!” the group tweeted, adding: “Pretty cool that he got 100% of his information about us completely wrong. What a news guy!”

It comes after Sleeping Giants in 2017 claimed its campaign had prompted more than 2,500 firms to stop advertising on Breitbart.