by Lloyd Billingsley
Congressional Republicans brand the move censorship - and call for hearings.
Just before midnight on Tuesday, DirecTV shut down Newsmax, a move the satellite service portrays as part of a contract dispute. Newsmax and many others don’t see it that way.
“This is a blatant act of political discrimination and censorship against Newsmax,” said Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy. “The most extreme liberal channels, even with tiny ratings, get fees from AT&T’s DirecTV, but Newsmax and OAN [One America News Network] need to be deplatformed.”
Last year, House Democrats Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney pressed cable and satellite providers about their decision to carry Fox News, OAN and Newsmax. The Democrats accused the conservative outlets of serving as “misinformation rumor mills and conspiracy theory hotbeds that produce content that leads to real harm.”
Fox, the most watched cable news channel in 2020, responded that “For individual members of Congress to highlight political speech they do not like and demand cable distributors engage in viewpoint discrimination sets a terrible precedent.” Newsxmax responded in similar fashion.
“The House Democrats’ attack on free speech and basic First Amendment rights should send chills down the spines of all Americans,” Newsmax said in a statement. “Newsmax reported fairly and accurately on allegations and claims made by both sides during the recent election contest. We did not see that same balanced coverage when CNN and MSNBC pushed for years the Russian collusion hoax, airing numerous claims and interviews with Democrat leaders that turned out to be patently false.”
The Democrats’ letter prompted DirecTV to deplatform OAN, followed by Newsmax on Tuesday. That brought a quick response Newsmax host Sebastian Gorka.
“Yeah, absolutely stunning,” Gorka said. “I mean, a more blatant example of politically-motivated censorship is hard to imagine. And this coming as we have all the revelations, thanks to Elon Musk at Twitter, of government-sponsored censorship. Is this something being done in league with the White House, with the DNC? We don’t know, but we know the facts of the case, that Newsmax was asking for fair remuneration, which is exactly the same for the top 75 channels on DirecTV, 22 of which, 22 are hardcore left-wing news channels.”
According to Gorka, DirecTV shut down Newsmax, “because Newsmax is growing in popularity, it’s growing in influence, and they want to shut down a voice that isn’t the mainstream lying media, but actually brings the facts to all of our viewers.” The shutdown of Newsmax also brought a response from Sen. Rick Scott, Florida Republican.
“This is censorship by companies like AT&T of conservative voices,” Scott said. “They’re trying to shut down our voices.”
As the Washington Examiner reports, Texas Republican Wesley Hunt wrote a letter telling DirecTV he was “deeply troubled by DirecTV’s decision to remove Newsmax from their lineup of channels.” According to Hunt, the deplatforming was “the latest development in the Left’s ongoing campaign to purge voices they disagree with from the public sphere” and would “cut off tens of millions of viewers who rely on Newsmax for their news and information.”
Newsmax streams live on YouTube but for supporters in Congress that’s not enough.
“So we need to hold hearings here,” Sen. Scott told reporters. “We’ve got to fight for this. The American public has to show up.”
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Action You Can Take to Fight AT&T DirecTV’s Censorship:
1. If you’re a DirecTV customer call them toll free at 877-763-9762 and demand they bring NEWSMAX back on air or you can CANCEL!
- [When you speak to a live operator, let them know you’re aware NEWSMAX’s live stream is ending soon on other platforms, so unless you get it on DIRECTV you will have to cancel their service.]
- If you are an AT&T customer for any of their products or services, call them and demand they end their censorship of NEWSMAX or you will cancel. Call AT&T toll free at 888-855-2338
2. Call your Member of Congress or Senator at 202-224-3121 and demand they stop AT&T and DirecTV’s censorship of conservative media like NEWSMAX!
3. Go to Newsmax’s online petition and get more info at: iWantNewsmax.com
Lloyd Billingsley is the author of Yes I Con: United Fakes of America, Barack ‘Em Up: A
Literary Investigation, Hollywood Party, and numerous other works.
Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/directv-shuts-down-newsmax/
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