Trump Targets AT&T as Revenge for DirecTV’s Drop in San Diego’s OAN

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Donald Trump was speaking at a Save America rally, where he criticized AT&T for the decision to drop OAN from DirecTV. Photo via YouTube.com

Former President Trump said at a rally Saturday in Florence, Arizona that San Diego-based OAN was downgraded by DirecTV because of politics and urged his supporters to think twice about using parental services and AT&T.

Maybe what we should do is not use AT&T, he said at the event attended by OAN founder Robert Herring Sr. and son Charles Herring, the president of networks Trump called patriots and great men.

All I can tell you is that people who tell the truth in America like One America News are threatened, Trump said. I love One America News (and) I watch it all the time.

He said OAN did a great job, but the executives woke up I don’t know what they were doing; the amount they owe. AT&T is a company in serious trouble.

If we do what they do with Republican companies, we won’t have a hard time, he said. Like: Not good. right?

The move on Friday by America’s largest satellite provider to drop San Diego-based One America News could financially cripple the right-wing TV network known for reinforcing conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

Trump cites One America News Network as being shut down by DirecTV and he regrets that the channel was “threatened” by “woke executives” at AT&T. He went on to suggest that people should boycott AT&T. pic.twitter.com/0lho5yV0g0

Aaron Rupar (@arupar) January 16, 2022

DirecTV’s announcement that AT&T is 70% owned came three months after a Reuters investigation revealed that the founder of OAN testified that AT&T inspired him to create the network. The court testimony also showed that OAN receives almost all of its revenue from DirecTV.

The Reuters report reaped calls from some liberal groups for AT&T and DirecTV to drop OAN, a favorite of former President Donald Trump, as the network has become a major source of false statements about the election and COVID vaccinations.

A brief report by OAN websites about the Save America rally did not mention the 45th presidents attack on AT&T, saying: Trump has targeted the Biden administration, saying few can imagine what disaster he will be for in the country. He stressed the record of high inflation, supply chain issues, rising crime, and failed response to Bidens ’pandemic.

On Thursday, President Biden said conspiracy theories at COVID put lives at risk.

I make a special appeal to social media companies and media outlets: Please deal with the misinformation and disinformation that is in your shows, Biden says. It has to stop.

OAN is owned by Herring Networks, a family of conservative tech entrepreneurs. CEO Robert Herring Sr. did not respond to requests for comment via email and telephone. In an interview with Reuters last year, he said his network provided an important voice.

If I think I’m right, I just go for it, he said.

DirecTV, with approximately 15 million subscribers, is OAN’s largest carrier. According to the testimony of OANs accountants reviewed by Reuters, DirecTV provided 90% of the revenue of conservative networks.

We informed Herring Networks that, following a regular internal review, we do not plan to enter into a new contract when our current agreement expires, DirecTV said in a statement.

The OAN-DirecTV contract is set to expire in the next few months. DirecTV began airing OAN in April 2017, a deal that began shortly after OAN and AT&T settled a lawsuit over alleged oral promises during negotiations.

On Twitter, some conservatives expressed anger that DirecTV and AT&T planned to drop OAN. Corporate Media is crushing the remaining dissent, tweeted former Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs.

The pro-Trump right, however, has strong outlets on television and online, including Fox News, the conservative cable news outlet founded by Rupert Murdoch.

Liberals cheered the news.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson called it a victory for us and the future of democracy.

In a statement, Johnson added: At a time when we see our rights being violated, OAN only seeks to create additional divisions. We must continue to choose truth over lies and common sense over hysteria.

The news also follows a lawsuit filed on Dec. 23 by two election workers in Georgia that accused OAN and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani of spreading false vote fraud claims about them after of the 2020 presidential election. The statements were refuted by state authorities. OAN denies it did anything wrong.

DirecTV did not detail why it planned to drop OAN. Earlier, an AT&T spokesperson said the company airs multiple news channels that offer insights across the political spectrum.

A Reuters investigation report in October cited sworn statements in which the OAN founder and his son testified that the inspiration for the conservative network came from AT&T executives.

They told us they wanted a conservative network, senior Herring said in a deposit in 2019. They only had one, that was Fox News, and they had seven others on the other side. [leftwing] side. When they said that, I jumped on it and built one.

During the court hearing in 2020, a transcript shows, an OAN lawyer told the court, If Herring Networks, for example, loses or is unable to renew with DirecTV, the company will lose business tomorrow.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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