The Republican National Committee sent out an email Wednesday calling on its members to support Newsmax in its struggle against suppression from AT&T's DirecTV.
In the message, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel highlighted that members "as Republican leaders" should "help mobilize the grassroots to push back on politically motivated censorship of our principles."
"This effort needs to come from the grassroots up," McDaniel reiterated. "If you can, please reach out to your local and county-level leaders to rally their communities. Whether it's on Twitter, on Facebook, a letter to the editor, or calling DirecTV at 877-763-9762, we need to send a loud and clear signal that we will not accept this blatant bias."
DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is returned! Oppose censorship – sign The Petition – Click Here
The chairwoman also sounded off on AT&T's claim that it decided to stop broadcasting Newsmax as a cost-cutting measure, specifically due to allegedly "excessive" licensing fees demanded by the network.
"DirecTV has claimed that their decision was the result of a dispute over carrier fees, but this is yet another example of powerful corporations silencing conservative viewpoints," McDaniel wrote. "It's anti-free-speech and anti-American."
"As DirecTV continues to pay full carrier fees for smaller left-wing networks while silencing the fourth-highest-rated news program on cable TV, it's our job to fight back," she added.
Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy has argued that the company was seeking a fee significantly less than what most of the top 75 cable channels and 22 liberal news networks have sought.
"This is a blatant act of political discrimination and censorship against Newsmax," Ruddy stated. "The most extreme liberal channels, even with tiny ratings, get fees from AT&T's DirecTV, but Newsmax and OAN [One American News Network] need to be deplatformed."
After the Jan. 24 decision, DirecTV issued a statement insisting that it wants Newsmax back on its service of more than 13 million subscribers.
However, Ruddy called the bluff — maintaining that the provider is uninterested in negotiating fairly and has demanded zero carriage fees.
"This was never about the fees being excessive," the Newsmax founder declared. "DirecTV's position has always been that Newsmax of all cable news channels should never get any cable fee whatsoever, not one penny."
AT&T's move comes despite Newsmax being the fourth highest-rated cable news channel in the U.S., a top 20 channel overall, and watched by 25 million Americans on cable alone.
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.
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