Watch Live: House Hearing on ‘Disinformation and Extremism’ in Media

House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and Thumbnail Image: Getty Images
Sean Moran

The House Communications and Technology subcommittee will hold a hearing on Wednesday on “disinformation and extremism” in the media.

The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will hold a hearing titled “Fanning the Flames: Disinformation and Extremism in the Media” starting at 12:30 P.M. Eastern.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, noted in a memo to committee members Monday that while many have blamed social media platforms for spreading misinformation, “broadcast and cable outlets have played a role in the spread of disinformation.”

The witnesses for the hearing include:

  • Soledad O’Brien, anchor of Matter of Fact and CEO of Soledad O’Brien Productions
  • Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital Media at Columbia University
  • Kristine Danielle Urquiza, cofounder of Marked by COVID
  • Jonathan Turley, professor at the George Washington University Law School

Pallone took a partisan view on media outlets’ role in spreading misinformation, citing several articles from the Washington Post and Media Matters on how “conservative media misinformation” may have worsened the coronavirus pandemic and spread misinformation regarding election fraud claims.

Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Jerry McNerney (D-CA), two members of the Communications and Technology subcommittee, sent letters to the leaders of several television providers, asking them if they plan to take action against Fox News, Newsmax, and One America News Network (OANN) for spreading “disinformation.”

The two Democrats asked:

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?

McNerney and Eshoo also asked, “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?”

Follow Breitbart News for more coverage of this hearing.

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.

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