February 22, 2021
Mr. John T. Stankey, CEO AT&T, Inc.
208 South Akard Street Dallas, Texas 75202
Dear Mr. Stankey,
Our country’s public discourse is plagued by misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories, and lies. These phenomena undergird the radicalization of seditious individuals who committed acts of insurrection on January 6th, and it contributes to a growing distrust of public health measures necessary to crush the pandemic. We are concerned about the role AT&T plays in disseminating misinformation to millions of its U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV subscribers, and we write to you today to request additional information about what actions AT&T is taking to address these issues.
Nearly half of Americans get their news primarily from TV.1 However, not all TV news sources are the same. Some purported news outlets have long been misinformation rumor mills and conspiracy theory hotbeds that produce content that leads to real harm.2 Misinformation on TV has led to our current polluted information environment that radicalizes individuals to commit seditious acts and rejects public health best practices, among other issues in our public discourse.3
Experts have noted that the right-wing media ecosystem is “much more susceptible...to disinformation, lies, and half-truths.”4 Right-wing media outlets, like Newsmax, One America News Network (OANN), and Fox News all aired misinformation about the November 2020 elections.5 For example, both Newsmax and OANN “ran incendiary reports” of false information following the elections and continue to support “an angry and dangerous subculture [that] will continue to operate semi-openly.”6 As a violent mob was breaching the doors of the Capitol, Newsmax’s coverage called the scene a “sort of a romantic idea.”7 Fox News, meanwhile, has spent years spewing misinformation about American politics.8
These same networks also have been key vectors of spreading misinformation related to the pandemic. A media watchdog found over 250 cases of COVID-19 misinformation on Fox News in just one five-day period, 9 and economists demonstrated that Fox News had a demonstrable impact on non-compliance with public health guidelines.10 One online platform suspended and demonetized OANN’s channel online because it was spreading COVID-19 misinformation.11 Newsmax has amplified allegations that members of the Chinese Communist Party helped to develop the COVID-19 vaccine.12
Sadly, these facts are not new. One popular television show aired a segment about OANN last April that included a dire warning: “the kind of misinformation [OANN] is spewing right now could end up getting people killed.”13
Yet, to our knowledge, the cable, satellite, and over-the-top companies that disseminate these media outlets to American viewers have done nothing in response to the misinformation aired by these outlets. 14 AT&T currently carries Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV.15 As a company that serves 17 million Americans,16 AT&T plays a major role in
1
the spread of dangerous misinformation that enabled the insurrection of January 6th and hinders our public health response to the current pandemic.
It is for these reasons we ask that you provide us with responses to the following questions about AT&T’s policies toward content carried on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV by March 8, 2021:
1. 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?
2. 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.
3. How many of your subscribers tuned in to Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV for each of the four weeks preceding the November 3, 2020 elections and the January 6, 2021 attacks on the Capitol? Please specify the number of subscribers that tuned in to each channel.
4. What steps did you take prior to, on, and following the November 3, 2020 elections and the January 6, 2021 attacks to monitor, respond to, and reduce the spread of disinformation, including encouragement or incitement of violence by channels your company disseminates to millions of Americans? Please describe each step that you took and when it was taken.
5. Have you taken any adverse actions against a channel, including Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN, for using your platform to disseminate disinformation related directly or indirectly to the November 3, 2020 elections, the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, or COVID-19 misinformation? If yes, please describe each action, when it was taken, and the parties involved.
6. Have you ever taken any actions against a channel for using your platform to disseminate any disinformation? If yes, please describe each action and when it was taken.
7. Are you planning to continue carrying Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV both now and beyond any contract renewal date? If so, why?
Most gratefully,
E______________________ Anna G. Eshoo
Member of Congress
______________________ Jerry McNerney
Member of Congress
1 Amy Mitchell et al., “Americans Who Mainly Get Their News on Social Media Are Less Engaged, Less Knowledgeable” (Pew Research Center, July 30, 2020), https://www.journalism.org/2020/07/30/americans- who-mainly-get-their-news-on-social-media-are-less-engaged-less-knowledgeable/.
2 Bill Keveney and Maria Puente, “How Conservative Media Stoked Baseless Election-Fraud Claims That Motivated DC Rioters,” USA Today, January 11, 2021,
https://mcnerney.house.gov/sites/mc...Nerney-Eshoo TV Misinfo Letters - 2.22.21.pdf
Do people not see what is actually going on in this country?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Mr. John T. Stankey, CEO AT&T, Inc.
208 South Akard Street Dallas, Texas 75202
Dear Mr. Stankey,
Our country’s public discourse is plagued by misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories, and lies. These phenomena undergird the radicalization of seditious individuals who committed acts of insurrection on January 6th, and it contributes to a growing distrust of public health measures necessary to crush the pandemic. We are concerned about the role AT&T plays in disseminating misinformation to millions of its U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV subscribers, and we write to you today to request additional information about what actions AT&T is taking to address these issues.
Nearly half of Americans get their news primarily from TV.1 However, not all TV news sources are the same. Some purported news outlets have long been misinformation rumor mills and conspiracy theory hotbeds that produce content that leads to real harm.2 Misinformation on TV has led to our current polluted information environment that radicalizes individuals to commit seditious acts and rejects public health best practices, among other issues in our public discourse.3
Experts have noted that the right-wing media ecosystem is “much more susceptible...to disinformation, lies, and half-truths.”4 Right-wing media outlets, like Newsmax, One America News Network (OANN), and Fox News all aired misinformation about the November 2020 elections.5 For example, both Newsmax and OANN “ran incendiary reports” of false information following the elections and continue to support “an angry and dangerous subculture [that] will continue to operate semi-openly.”6 As a violent mob was breaching the doors of the Capitol, Newsmax’s coverage called the scene a “sort of a romantic idea.”7 Fox News, meanwhile, has spent years spewing misinformation about American politics.8
These same networks also have been key vectors of spreading misinformation related to the pandemic. A media watchdog found over 250 cases of COVID-19 misinformation on Fox News in just one five-day period, 9 and economists demonstrated that Fox News had a demonstrable impact on non-compliance with public health guidelines.10 One online platform suspended and demonetized OANN’s channel online because it was spreading COVID-19 misinformation.11 Newsmax has amplified allegations that members of the Chinese Communist Party helped to develop the COVID-19 vaccine.12
Sadly, these facts are not new. One popular television show aired a segment about OANN last April that included a dire warning: “the kind of misinformation [OANN] is spewing right now could end up getting people killed.”13
Yet, to our knowledge, the cable, satellite, and over-the-top companies that disseminate these media outlets to American viewers have done nothing in response to the misinformation aired by these outlets. 14 AT&T currently carries Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV.15 As a company that serves 17 million Americans,16 AT&T plays a major role in
1
the spread of dangerous misinformation that enabled the insurrection of January 6th and hinders our public health response to the current pandemic.
It is for these reasons we ask that you provide us with responses to the following questions about AT&T’s policies toward content carried on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV by March 8, 2021:
1. 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?
2. 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.
3. How many of your subscribers tuned in to Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV for each of the four weeks preceding the November 3, 2020 elections and the January 6, 2021 attacks on the Capitol? Please specify the number of subscribers that tuned in to each channel.
4. What steps did you take prior to, on, and following the November 3, 2020 elections and the January 6, 2021 attacks to monitor, respond to, and reduce the spread of disinformation, including encouragement or incitement of violence by channels your company disseminates to millions of Americans? Please describe each step that you took and when it was taken.
5. Have you taken any adverse actions against a channel, including Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN, for using your platform to disseminate disinformation related directly or indirectly to the November 3, 2020 elections, the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, or COVID-19 misinformation? If yes, please describe each action, when it was taken, and the parties involved.
6. Have you ever taken any actions against a channel for using your platform to disseminate any disinformation? If yes, please describe each action and when it was taken.
7. Are you planning to continue carrying Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV both now and beyond any contract renewal date? If so, why?
Most gratefully,
E______________________ Anna G. Eshoo
Member of Congress
______________________ Jerry McNerney
Member of Congress
1 Amy Mitchell et al., “Americans Who Mainly Get Their News on Social Media Are Less Engaged, Less Knowledgeable” (Pew Research Center, July 30, 2020), https://www.journalism.org/2020/07/30/americans- who-mainly-get-their-news-on-social-media-are-less-engaged-less-knowledgeable/.
2 Bill Keveney and Maria Puente, “How Conservative Media Stoked Baseless Election-Fraud Claims That Motivated DC Rioters,” USA Today, January 11, 2021,
https://mcnerney.house.gov/sites/mc...Nerney-Eshoo TV Misinfo Letters - 2.22.21.pdf
Do people not see what is actually going on in this country?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
