AT&T played key role in founding of far-right conspiracy outlet OAN, channel’s president said in court
The Reuters story stated that, along with taking part in a pivotal position in its founding, AT&T stays an important income stream for the community in the present day. The outlet cited sworn testimony in 2020 from an OAN accountant who stated 90% of the channel’s income is from AT&T-owned platforms.
Whereas CNN was unable to evaluation all the courtroom paperwork Reuters obtained for its story, AT&T is by far OAN’s largest tv distributor.
The outlet has been infamous for pushing misinformation concerning the coronavirus in addition to being one of many major promoters of the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.
However till Reuters revealed its reporting on Wednesday, little was recognized about AT&T’s position within the founding of the channel.
Herring filed a lawsuit in 2016 in opposition to AT&T, alleging the corporate had violated an settlement to hold his channel on DirecTV, which it owned on the time (AT&T nonetheless owns 70% of DirecTV, which has been spun off right into a standalone firm). In a courtroom doc as a part of the lawsuit, which was reviewed by CNN, Herring stated that when he was desirous about creating a brand new cable channel, AT&T suggested him to launch a information community.
“They advised us they wished a conservative community,” Herring stated in a 2019 deposition for a separate case. “They solely had one, which was Fox Information, and so they had seven others on the opposite [leftwing] facet. After they stated that, I jumped to it and constructed one.”
Within the 2016 courtroom doc, Herring stated a deal value roughly $100 million over 5 years had been struck with AT&T to hold his channel on DirecTV after AT&T accomplished its acquisition of the satellite tv for pc supplier, however that it had reneged.
In one other doc, additionally reviewed by CNN, Herring stated AT&T had even proposed taking a 5% possession stake in his firm, and that this stake would assure OAN a spot on DirecTV’s channel lineup.
The possession stake by no means materialized, however AT&T finally reached an settlement with OAN to hold it on DirecTV after the lawsuit was filed. The phrases of that settlement weren’t disclosed publicly.
In an announcement, an AT&T spokesperson stated, “AT&T has by no means had a monetary curiosity in OAN’s success and doesn’t ‘fund’ OAN. When AT&T acquired DIRECTV, we refused to hold OAN on that platform, and OAN sued DIRECTV because of this. 4 years in the past, DIRECTV reached a industrial carriage settlement with OAN, because it has with a whole bunch of different channels and as OAN has achieved with the opposite TV suppliers that carry its programming.”
“DIRECTV presents all kinds of programming, together with many information channels that provide a wide range of viewpoints, however it doesn’t dictate or management programming on the channels,” the spokesperson added. “Any suggestion in any other case is unsuitable. The choice of whether or not to resume the carriage settlement upon its expiration can be as much as DIRECTV, which is now a separate firm outdoors of AT&T.”
A spokesperson for AT&T deflected when requested a sequence of questions from CNN. When requested, as an example, whether or not AT&T ever mentioned buying a 5% stake in OAN, the spokesperson solely stated that it has “by no means had an possession stake” within the channel. And when requested whether or not AT&T representatives ever instructed Herring begin a information channel, the spokesperson solely stated that it initially “refused to hold” it when it acquired DirecTV.
“The one information community we ‘fund’ is CNN as a result of it is part of AT&T,” the spokesperson stated. “Identical to we do with MSNBC, Fox Information and different information channels, we merely have a industrial carriage settlement with OAN.”
Charles Herring, the son of Robert Herring and president of OAN’s mother or father firm, didn’t reply to a request for remark Wednesday.
AT&T’s involvement with OAN drew swift criticism on Wednesday after Reuters revealed its report.
“We’re outraged to study that AT&T has been funneling tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} into OAN for the reason that community’s inception,” Nationwide Affiliation for the Development of Coloured Folks President Derrick Johnson stated in an announcement. “In consequence, AT&T has brought on irreparable harm to our democracy. The press ought to inform the American public with information, not far-right propaganda and conspiracy theories.”
“We’re sickened by these revelations,” Johnson added.
CNN’s Katelyn Polantz and Brian Stelter contributed to this report.
