BuzzFeed has denied claims it deleted posts on its website in an effort to avoid upsetting advertisers including Unilever’s Dove and Hasbro.

The publisher first came under fire on Thursday after it was accused by Gawker of “disappearing” an article critical of Dove’s latest campaign, with suggestions it had deleted the post to placate Unilever.

It was then also alleged that a post entitled ‘Why Monopoly Is The Worst Game In The World, And What You Should Play Instead’ has been similarly deleted within 24 hours of publishing.

Both articles have now been republished, with an accompanying note admittingthey had been “inappropriately deleted”.

BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith responded by sending a note to employeesdenying he had responded to advertiser pressure, but conceded he had removed the posts over to concerns about “the place of personal opinion” on the site.

Smith wrote: “I blew it. Twice in the last couple of months, I’ve asked editors — over their judgment and without any respect to our standards or process — to delete recently published posts from the site.

“Both involved the same thing: my overreaction to questions we’ve been wrestling with about the place of personal opinion on our site. I reacted impulsively when I saw the posts and I was wrong to do that. We’ve reinstated both with a brief note.

“You also have a right to ask about whether we did this because of advertiser pressure, as Gawker suggested. The answer is no. I field complaints all the time from companies and individuals, including advertisers, and see it as my job to shield you from that pressure.”

Earlier this year, British newspaper The Daily Telegraph was forced to deny accusations its commercial relationship with HSBC had influenced its coverage of a tax scandal impacting the banking brand.