From Fast Company:
AT&T had a rough week. On Wednesday, Reuters published a special investigative report that says 90% of right-wing propaganda TV network OAN’s revenue came from a carriage contract with AT&T-owned or controlled television platforms, including satellite broadcaster DirecTV, according to 2020 sworn testimony by an OAN accountant.
The Reuters investigation found that the world’s largest communications company—owner of WarnerMedia, HBO, CNN, and DirecTV—also played a crucial role in creating OAN, which continues to spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and the COVID-19 pandemic. OAN founder and chief executive Robert Herring Sr testified in court documents seen by Reuters that the inspiration to launch OAN in 2013 came from AT&T executives. Herring said, “They told us they wanted a conservative network. They only had one, which was Fox News, and they had seven others on the other [left wing] side. When they said that, I jumped to it and built one.” The bulk of OAN’s funding appears to come from subscriber fees for ATT-Owned DirecTV. Herring has testified he was offered $250 million for OAN in 2019, and a network accountant said under oath that without the DirecTV deal, the network’s value “would be zero.”
AT&T has responded to the report denying it funds OAN tweeting, “AT&T has never had a financial interest in OAN’s success and does not ‘fund’ OAN. When AT&T acquired DirecTV, we refused to carry OAN on that platform, and OAN sued DirecTV as a result. Four years ago, DirecTV reached a commercial carriage agreement with OAN, as it has with hundreds of other channels and as OAN has with other TV providers that carry its programming.”
DirecTV is a separate company, but one that is still 70% owned by AT&T, which sold off 30% in August to private equity firm TPG. Whether DirecTV is a subsidiary of AT&T or just majority-owned by the telecom giant, this story’s reflection on AT&T’s brand image remain the same. And it’s not good. For a company that owns liberal-leaning CNN, and requires vaccine and mask mandates for its own employees, to be associated with the conspiracy theories and misinformation of OAN, could to some have the appearance of brand hypocrisy.
Continue reading Reuters calls out AT&T’s connection to far right media outlet OAN on Fast Company
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