Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has declared that he would cancel his DirectTV subscriptionafter the company announced plans to remove pro-Trump conservative cable station One America News (OAN) from its lineup. "Why should we give money to those who despise us?" Paul said in a tweet sent on Monday.
On Friday, DirectTV announced that it would not extend its contractwith OAN, citing "regular internal review" as the reason for the decision.
Over the weekend, several Trump-supporting Republicans and conservative groups attacked DirectTV's decision, claiming it's part of a bigger campaign by strong media companies to censor or marginalize conservative perspectives.
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"The Left’s purge continues: -YouTube demonetizes Dan Bongino. -DirectTV drops One America News. -Twitter suspends Dr. Malone. Who’s next?" Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said in a tweet of his own.
"Pretty convenient that this comes within a week after Biden begged companies to silence 'misinformation,' meaning his opposition," commented Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Col.).
OAN is one of several conservative media outlets that has been sued in recent months for allegedly airing false or defamatory assertions about the results of the 2020 presidential election.
According to a Reuters investigation published in October, nearly all OAN's revenue comes from a single deal with AT&T careers, which owns and operates DirectTV. Verizon Fios and smaller carriers have maintained OAN, and it is available to stream online through KloudTV, The Hill previously reported.
Following previous litigation and other contentious content being carried on its airwaves, AT&T was under increasing pressure to cut connections with OAN. "We are outraged to learn that AT&T has been funneling tens of millions of dollars into OAN since the network’s inception," NAACP President Derrick Johnson said after the Reuters report was published. "As a result, AT&T has caused irreparable damage to our democracy. The press should inform the American public with facts, not far-right propaganda and conspiracy theories."
