The censorship of conservative voices is "absolutely real" including with AT&T DirecTV's deplatforming of Newsmax, according to Rep. Tony Gonzales.
"We're just now starting to uncover what we thought for years now and Newsmax has certainly been part of the end of that, and we got to get ahead of it here in the House," the Texas Republican told Newsmax's "Spicer & Co." on Wednesday. "We have to hold these hearings, but it can't just be empty rhetoric. It can't just be theater. There has to be tangible solutions that ultimately get over the finish line."
But that means solutions must come in a bipartisan manner," said Gonzalez.
DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to cancel/complain
"But you've got to get people on board," the congressman said. "It can't just be Republicans, you know, yelling at the TV and expecting change. We have to force change, and we forced change by bringing the truth out into the light for everyone to see, where there's nowhere for these big tech companies to hide. Part of that started yesterday, and we have to keep that going."
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.
This week DirecTV claimed Newsmax was demanding "excessive fees" that would cost them in the "tens of millions" of dollars.
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, and that total amount of the deal was a fraction of "tens of millions."
"This was never about the fees being excessive," Chris Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax, said. "DirecTV's position has always been that Newsmax of all cable news channels should never get any cable fee whatsoever, not one penny."
DirecTV continues to carry 22 left-leaning news channels, many with much lower ratings than Newsmax. And of those channels get license fees.
Actions to Take Now
1. DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to cancel/complain.
2. AT&T customers call toll free at 888-855-2338 to cancel/complain for U-verse, cellular and wireless services.
3. 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!
4. Go to our online petition and get more info: iWantNewsmax.com.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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