Eric Boehlert: Democrats demand AT&T, Comcast, Verizon police Fox News' Insurrection TV

[babylonsister]

https://pressrun.media/p/democrats-to-at-and-t-comcast-verizon

Democrats demand AT&T, Comcast, Verizon police Fox News' Insurrection TV
Congress demands answers
Eric Boehlert
4 hr ago


The country's largest cable TV providers — the companies that deliver hundreds of channels into homes across the country — will be on the hot seat today. In the wake of the last month's deadly, military-style insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Democrats at a scheduled Energy and Commerce Committee hearing want to know what AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and other media bosses are doing about the never-ending flow of lies and misinformation produced by right-wing outlets, such as Fox News.

Today, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are working to try to clamp down on far-right content that spreads dangerous lies about the election, which whipped up a bloodthirsty mob on January 6, as well as a year's worth of Covid-19 falsehoods. Now Democrats want to press the carriers on what can be done about cable television outlets, including Newsmax TV and OAN, that gleefully do the same thing.

"What moral or ethical principles (including those related to journalistic integrity, violence, medical information, and public health) do you apply in deciding which channels to carry or when to take adverse actions against a channel?" asked two Democratic representatives from California, Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney, in a letter sent to cable provider CEO's, as well as to the heads of Roku, Amazon, Apple, Google and Hulu, digital companies that distribute cable programming. "Do you require, through contracts or otherwise, that the channels you carry abide by any content guidelines? If so, please provide a copy of the guidelines."

The carriers not only help Fox News spread the insurrectionist message, they provide the network with billions of dollars each year in lucrative fees.

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Cable providers might like to see themselves as nothing more than middlemen who provide programming platforms. But when that content kills, the way right-wing lies about elections and Covid do, those providers bear responsibility.