The purge continues. 2 House democrats are demanding that cable and satellite providers stop carrying “conservative” news channels like Fox News and OANN. The reason cited is because the democrat claims these networks disseminate false information. If that’s their criteria, why aren’t they demanding that CNN, MSNBC, and all the major networks get booted too? The answer is because this has nothing to do with journalistic integrity or the truth and everything to do with punishing and erasing conservatives.
Democratic Reps Anna G. Eshoo (gesundheit) and Jerry McNerney wrote a letter to AT&T CEO John T. Stankey. I know with some of these names, this seems like a made-up story, but I can assure you it’s real no matter how bad it stanks and sneezes.
Our country’s public discourse is plagued by misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories, and lies. These phenomena undergird the radicalization of seditious individuals who committed acts of insurrection on January 6th, and it contributes to a growing distrust of public health measures necessary to crush the pandemic. We are concerned about the role AT&T plays in disseminating misinformation to millions of its U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV subscribers, and we write to you today to request additional information about what actions AT&T is taking to address these issues.
Nearly half of Americans get their news primarily from TV. However, not all TV news sources are the same. Some purported news outlets have long been misinformation rumor mills and conspiracy theory hotbeds that produce content that leads to real harm. Misinformation on TV has led to our current polluted information environment that radicalizes individuals to commit seditious acts and rejects public health best practices, among other issues in our public discourse.
These 2 freedom of speech-haters then named the culprits:
Experts have noted that the right-wing media ecosystem is “much more susceptible…to disinformation, lies, and half-truths.” Right-wing media outlets, like Newsmax, One America News Network (OANN), and Fox News all aired misinformation about the November 2020 elections.5 For example, both Newsmax and OANN “ran incendiary reports” of false information following the elections and continue to support “an angry and dangerous subculture [that] will continue to operate semi-openly.” As a violent mob was breaching the doors of the Capitol, Newsmax’s coverage called the scene a “sort of a romantic idea.” Fox News, meanwhile, has spent years spewing misinformation about American politics.
Just for fun, these 2 democrats should review how much misinformation has come from the entire liberal media during the Trump administration. I think they will find the results quite eye-opening.
These same networks also have been key vectors of spreading misinformation related to the pandemic. A media watchdog found over 250 cases of COVID-19 misinformation on Fox News in just one five-day period, and economists demonstrated that Fox News had a demonstrable impact on non-compliance with public health guidelines. One online platform suspended anddemonetized OANN’s channel online because it was spreading COVID-19 misinformation. Newsmax has amplified allegations that members of the Chinese Communist Party helped to develop the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Chinese Communist Party helped to develop the COVID-19 vaccine? I don’t think that’s the piece of “misinformation” these 2 clowns meant to include. Doesn’t that make China sound heroic, something democrats believe, rather than point the finger at the communists for weaponizing and unleashing the coronavirus plague upon humanity?
AT&T currently carries Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV.15 As a company that serves 17 million Americans,16 AT&T plays a major role in the spread of dangerous misinformation that enabled the insurrection of January 6th and hinders our public health response to the current pandemic.
And with that, Eshoo and McNerney demand with a series of rhetorical questions that AT&T and DirecTV drop these conservative news channels from their services:
What moral or ethical principles (including those related to journalistic integrity, violence, medical information, and public health) do you apply in deciding which channels to carry or when to take adverse actions against a channel?
Do you require, through contracts or otherwise, that the channels you carry abide by any content guidelines?
How many of your subscribers tuned in to Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV for each of the four weeks preceding the November 3, 2020 elections and the January 6, 2021 attacks on the Capitol?
What steps did you take prior to, on, and following the November 3, 2020 elections and the January 6, 2021 attacks to monitor, respond to, and reduce the spread of disinformation, including encouragement or incitement of violence by channels your company disseminates to millions of Americans?
Have you taken any adverse actions against a channel, including Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN, for using your platform to disseminate disinformation related directly or indirectly to the November 3, 2020 elections, the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, or COVID-19 misinformation?
Have you ever taken any actions against a channel for using your platform to disseminate any disinformation?
Are you planning to continue carrying Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV both now and beyond any contract renewal date? If so, why?
This is basically the same way liberals got Amazon to nuke Parler.
In addition to attempting to silence conservative views, what the democrats are doing with this is trying to establish that questioning the results of the 2020 presidential election is synonymous with sedition. The best way to keep the truth from coming out is to make it a crime.
