United Front Intl
No Result
View All Result
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • US
  • World
  • Politics
  • Coronavirus
  • Videos
  • Be in the Know
  • ShopNew
Contact us
United Front Intl
  • Home
  • US
  • World
  • Politics
  • Coronavirus
  • Videos
  • Be in the Know
  • ShopNew

No products in the cart.

No Result
View All Result
United Front Intl
No Result
View All Result
Home US

AT&T funds rightwing channel One America News, Reuters reveals

OAN founder said the inspiration for the channel came from AT&T executives but the company disputes the reports

by admin
October 7, 2021
in Be in the Know, US
AT&T funds rightwing channel One America News, Reuters reveals

One America News promotes lies and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. Photograph: Gaelen Morse/Reuters

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The Guardian
Samira Sadeque

AT&T, the nation’s largest telecom provider, has been discovered to be a crucial cog in the operation of One America News, the rightwing news channel which has seen a rise in its viewership through its promotion of unfounded claims that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Donald Trump.

A Reuters investigation revealed that AT&T has been the source of 90% of OAN’s revenue since the news channel was launched in 2013. AT&T disputed the report, claiming that their partnership with DirecTV merely “carried” the channel.

Robert Herring Sr, founder and CEO of OAN, which shares a large overlap of viewers with Fox News, said in 2019 during a deposition that the channel was the brainchild of AT&T executives.

“They told us they wanted a conservative network,” he said at the time, according to Reuters. “They only had one, which was Fox News, and they had seven others on the other [leftwing] side. When they said that, I jumped to it and built one.”

AT&T provided millions of dollars in funds to OAN, with the company offering Herring $250m for the network, according to the report.

But Jim Greer, assistant vice-president of corporate communications at AT&T, refuted claims that AT&T “funds” OAN.

“AT&T has never had a financial interest in OAN’s success,” he said in a statement to the Guardian on Thursday, a day after the Reuters report was published. He said that when AT&T acquired DirecTV in 2015, the company no longer wanted to have OAN on their platform, and that OAN then sued DirecTV.

In 2017, OAN and DirecTV settled a “commercial carriage agreement”, meaning DirecTV only hosts the OAN channel, and pays them to carry their content.

This, Greer says, is different from “funding” the channel, adding that AT&T only funds CNN.

“DirecTV offers a wide variety of programming, including many news channels that offer a variety of viewpoints, but it does not dictate or control programming on the channels,” Greer added. “Any suggestion otherwise is wrong.”

AT&T and DirecTV split in August.

OAN, which draws primarily older, white Americans and conservative Republicans, has a significantly lower viewership than other conservative media such as Fox News. According to a Pew survey, only 7% of a sample of 12,045 adult respondents said in March they watch OAN for political news, while the number was six times higher for Fox viewers.

Meanwhile, OAN remains in the headlines for dabbling in conspiracy theories and explicitly advocating violence against people it falsely claims “stole” the 2020 election. The channel’s Facebook page draws comments making false claims, such as that Democrats were behind the 6 January insurgency.

The Guardian has contacted Herring Networks for further comment.

Related

ShareTweetSendSend

Related Posts

The border buses: New York City’s migrant crisis | States of America
Videos

The border buses: New York City’s migrant crisis | States of America

January 30, 2023
President Biden Delivers Remarks at the National Action Network Martin Luther King, Jr Day Breakfast
Videos

President Biden Delivers Remarks at the National Action Network Martin Luther King, Jr Day Breakfast

January 17, 2023
Speaker McCarthy: A weakened leader or emboldened survivor?
Politics

Speaker McCarthy: A weakened leader or emboldened survivor?

January 8, 2023
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Opening Remarks
Videos

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Opening Remarks

January 8, 2023
January 6 committee: What’s next for Trump legally and politically
US

January 6 committee: What’s next for Trump legally and politically

December 19, 2022
GIVING TUESDAY 2022
Be in the Know

GIVING TUESDAY 2022

November 29, 2022

My Cart

No Content Available

Categories

  • Be in the Know
  • Coronavirus
  • Politics
  • US
  • Videos
  • World

UnitedFrontIntl Store

My Account & Ordering
Cart
Checkout
Track My Order
Refund and Returns Policy
Privacy Policy
FAQs

Site Navigation

  • Home
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • About Us
  • Shipping Policy

Links

CNBC
Reuters

The New York Times
The Washington Post


Your tax-deductible gift is vital and will help us fund and maintain our website to bring you current news and information on a daily basis. Thank you in advance.

© 2022 United Front Intl

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • US
  • World
  • Politics
  • Coronavirus
  • Videos
  • Be in the Know
  • Contact Us
  • Advertisement
  • Shop

© 2022 United Front Intl

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In