David Hogg, the 17-year-old Parkland school shooting survivor who has become a gun control advocate, has called for a boycott of BlackRock and Vanguard, Yahoo News is reporting .
In a tweet on Tuesday afternoon, Hogg called on his 700,000-plus Twitter followers to boycott the two holding companies. Neither company is directly involved in the manufacture or sales of guns or gun components. Rather, they own, trade, buy, and sell stock in American Outdoor Brands (AOBC), the parent company of Smith & Wesson Corp., one of the world’s largest gun manufacturers. Similarly, BlackRock and Vanguard are both the largest holders of stock in gun manufacturer Sturm Ruger (RGR).
At this point, it bears noting that Hogg didn’t specifically use the word “boycott” in his tweets; rather, he just gave his followers the information and asked them to do with it what they would.
#BoycottVanguard #BoycottBlackrock
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) April 17, 2018
It was a similar tactic to the one Hogg used back at the end of March. As reported by the Inquisitr , talk show host Laura Ingraham tweeted that Hogg had been “whining” when he mentioned that his college applications to four prestigious California universities had been denied. Hogg responded by providing his Twitter followers with a list of advertisers on Ingraham’s show.
Pick a number 1-12 contact the company next to that #
Top Laura Ingraham Advertisers 1. @sleepnumber 2. @ATT 3. Nutrish 4. @Allstate & @esurance 5. @Bayer 6. @RocketMortgage Mortgage 7. @LibertyMutual 8. @Arbys 9. @TripAdvisor 10. @Nestle 11. @hulu 12. @Wayfair
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 29, 2018
Within hours, advertisers left and right were jumping ship from Ingraham’s show. She later took a sudden “vacation,” though she insisted that it had been planned. By the time she returned a week later, 27 advertisers had left her show.
For what it’s worth, Ingraham’s ratings have “ surged ,” according to a Tuesday report by the Inquisitr .
Hogg, for his part, has become a lightning rod for controversy since becoming an outspoken gun control advocate, and some have found that criticizing him has cost them dearly. Saint Louis radio and TV personality Jamie Allman, for example, tweeted that he wanted to “ ram a hot poker up David Hogg’s a** ,” according to the Inquisitr . He was subsequently either fired or forced to resign, depending on whom you ask.
Jamie Allman’s tweet triggered boycotts and national outrage. https://t.co/3bGF7b71iI
— Riverfront Times (@RiverfrontTimes) April 17, 2018
Meanwhile, Vanguard appears to have gone into damage-control mode. Even before Hogg’s tweet, the company had announced that it was planning to offer stock portfolios that exclude gun manufacturers and retailers. Since Hogg’s tweet, the company has issued a statement indicating that it’s “meeting with the leaders of gun manufacturers and distributors.”
“We believe that when a business poses a risk to society, it can also pose a risk to investors.”
It is not clear, as of this writing, what prompted Hogg to target BlackRock and Vanguard, as several holding companies hold, sell, and trade portfolios that contain stock in gun manufacturers and retailers.
