SAN FRANCISCO —The newly-formed Hate Hurts America Community and Interfaith Coalition (HHA) this week announced that Wal-Mart and AT&T have joined a growing list of advertisers that have stopped advertising or refuse to place their ads on Michael Savage’s “Savage Nation” program. HHA, a group of religious and civic organizations seeking to challenge hate speech on talk radio, was formed as a result of Savage’s recent rhetorical attacks on Muslims, Islam and the Qur’an, Islam’s revealed text. At a news conference in San Francisco, Calif., coalition members called on advertisers nationwide to stop airing commercials on Savage’s nationally-syndicated program. Coalition representatives also called on other faith-based and community groups to join the national campaign against hate rhetoric on talk radio. An HHA statement said in part: “We have a duty to make sure every person in America is treated with respect and human dignity. Diversity is what makes this nation so special. The many companies that do not want to be affiliated with Michael Savage’s bigotry and have stopped advertising or refuse to advertise on his show include AutoZone, Citrix, TrustedID, JCPenney, and OfficeMax. Today, we are pleased to announce that Wal-Mart and AT&T have joined the growing list of companies that refuse to sponsor Savage’s hate speech.”

In a letter sent to the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a member of the HHA coalition, an AT&T official wrote: “AT&T has never directly supported this program through advertisements or sponsorship. Some radio stations may have inserted AT&T advertisements locally during the broadcast of Michael Savage’s syndicated program. We are reaching out to individual radio stations to reinforce our policy to ensure this doesn’t happen.”