The Guardian: Major blow for One America News as Verizon Fios drops far-right network

The Guardian: Major blow for One America News as Verizon Fios drops far-right network

“One America News Network will be left without a major carrier to spread its often harmful and dangerous disinformation and baseless conspiracy theories,” said Yosef Getachew, the media and democracy program director at Common Cause, a government watchdog group that urged Verizon to drop OAN. “This is a welcome change but long overdue. “No company should profit from spreading content that endangers our democracy.” Common Cause and other civil rights groups have pressured carriers to drop OAN.

Verizon Fios will no longer carry One America News (OAN) at the end of this month, dealing a major blow to the far-right television network that has become a hotbed of misinformation.

Verizon was the largest pay-TV provider still carrying the OAN, according to the Daily Beast, which first reported the network was getting dropped. Verizon and OAN were unable to reach an agreement to continue providing the network and customers will not be able to access the service after 30 July.

The development means that OAN in effect will not have a major television platform in the US. DirecTV, a major revenue provider for OAN, announced that it was dropping the network in April.

The only network still carrying the channel is General Communications Inc, available in a little over 100,000 households, the Daily Beast reported. OAN is also still available on two little-known streaming providers.

“One America News Network will be left without a major carrier to spread its often harmful and dangerous disinformation and baseless conspiracy theories,” said Yosef Getachew, the media and democracy program director at Common Cause, a government watchdog group that urged Verizon to drop OAN. “This is a welcome change but long overdue.

“No company should profit from spreading content that endangers our democracy.”

Common Cause and other civil rights groups have pressured carriers to drop OAN.