Denouncing the censorship of Newsmax, CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp sent a letter Wednesday to the CEOs of AT&T and DirecTV urging the satellite provider to reinstate Newsmax.
"We are deeply concerned by the latest actions from DirecTV to cancel Newsmax, especially given the high ratio of left-leaning channels that DirectTV supports to right-leaning ones on the platform," CPAC's Schlapp wrote in a statement released Thursday.
AT&T, the 70% owner of DirecTV, moved to deplatform Newsmax on Jan. 24, removing its signal from 13 million customer homes.
DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is returned! Oppose censorship – sign The Petition – Click Here
"The removal of Newsmax directly targets conservatives, the single largest underserved market of information consumers in the United States," he said.
CPAC — the Conservative Political Action Conference — organizes each year "the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world."
The CPAC annual meeting, attended by almost all Republican presidential candidates, "brings together hundreds of conservative organizations, thousands of activists, millions of viewers and the best and brightest leaders in the world," the organization says.
Schlapp's statement on behalf of CPAC harshly criticized AT&T and DirecTV for cancelling two of the three leading conservative networks in the past year, including OAN, which was deplatformed last April.
Both channels were removed after House Democrats under Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote to AT&T and other cable operators demanding that Newsmax, OAN and Fox News be removed for spreading "misinformation."
"On behalf of CPAC and our conservative activists across America, we believe DirecTV should reinstate Newsmax," Schlapp's statement continued.
"The cancelation of Newsmax is another example of woke CEOs, tech oligarchs, government bureaucrats, and left-wing activists have engaged in information warfare to silence those with whom they disagree," he said.
Schlapp noted in his letter that Newsmax programming includes events not available on other networks on DirecTV, including CPAC events that are "regularly censored, deplatformed, or shadow-banned."
Next month CPAC is hosting its next conference in Washington, D.C., and noted "more than 100 elected officials participating" understand the "destructive" nature of bias against conservatives in the media and Big Tech.
DirecTV's deplatforming of Newsmax has drawn an outcry from Republican lawmakers and major conservative leaders, including actor Jon Voight, former President Donald Trump, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, and others.
Even former Democrat Vice-Presidential candidate Joe Lieberman and former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard joined in condemning DirecTV's "censorship" of Newsmax.
DirecTV has claimed both Newsmax and OAN were removed as "cost-cutting" measures at the same time the company reported profits last year of $2.7 billion.
DirecTV has claimed Newsmax was demanding "excessive fees" that would cost them in the "tens of millions" of dollars.
But Newsmax has denied these claims, saying it was seeking a fee of about $1 per cable subscriber per year, among the lowest fees asked for in cable.
DirecTV continues to carry 22 left-leaning news channels, many with much lower ratings than Newsmax. And all of those channels get license fees.
Schlapp's letter concluded, "We strongly urge you to reinstate Newsmax on the DirecTV platform," adding "there is a significant opportunity for DirecTV to reverse course and become a place where all Americans can find a more balanced presentation of news and voices to help them make informed decisions."
Actions to Take Now
1. DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is back on air!
2. Call your congressman or senator at 202-224-3121 and demand they stop AT&T/DirecTV's censorship of NEWSMAX — ask them to give you a date on the hearings!
3. Go to our online petition and get more info: iWantNewsmax.com.