Pressure is mounting against telecom giant Verizon after it cut off One America News (OAN) from its Verizon Fios pay-tv network last month, refusing to renew its contract with OAN following pressure from leftist advocacy groups.
Breitbart News reported on the deplatforming of OAN last month, which followed similar action from AT&T’s DirecTV platform. The loss of Verizon Fios as well has effectively cut off most Americans from accessing the conservative-leaning channel through mainstream cable providers.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, US, on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022. (Photographer: Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Pressure is mounting against Verizon over its actions, which represent a new front in the left’s war to suppress conservative sources of information.
Writing on TRUTH Social earlier this month, former President Donald Trump condemned Verizon’s “purely political” decision.
“One America News (OAN) is AMAZING, with great ratings and a REALLY loyal following,” wrote Trump. “Despite it being so good, VERIZON, for purely political reasons, will be terminating OAN at the end of this month. Isn’t this “stuff” supposed to be illegal? The good news is that the owners and management of One America News [are] smart and very wise. They will figure it out!”
Project 21, a leading voice of black conservatives in the U.S., has also written a letter to Verizon Fios demanding that OAN be reinstated.
“Allowing a political pressure campaign to decide which news and information programs Americans have access to undermines free speech and sets a precedent that will only encourage further demands,” wrote leaders of Project 21 in their communication to Verizon. The full letter can be read here.
Since the 2020 elections, Democrats and their allies in activist organizations have waged a relentless campaign against the cable providers, urging them to drop conservative networks like OAN.
Last year, Democratic Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Jerry McNerney (D-CA), both of whom sit on the House Commerce Committee which oversees the FCC, wrote a letter to cable and satellite companies including Verizon and AT&T, urging them to drop conservative networks.
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.