Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Zooming in on 2020 election
House panelists to question cable TV providers on role in battling election fraud claims
Three months ago, federal lawmakers grilled Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, and Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s chief, about the misinformation that had appeared on their platforms.
Now, a congressional committee has scheduled a hearing to focus on the role of companies that provide cable television service in the spread of falsehoods concerning the 2020 election.
In advance of the Wednesday hearing, called “Fanning the Flames: Disinformation and Extremism in the Media,” members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter Monday to Comcast, AT&T, Spectrum, Dish, Verizon, Cox and Altice, asking about their role in “the spread of dangerous misinformation.”
The scrutiny of cable providers took on new urgency after supporters of former President Donald Trump, who repeatedly promoted the debunked claim that the election was rigged, stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“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,” Reps. Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney, both of California, wrote in the letter.
Newsmax, a right-wing cable channel carried by AT&T, CenturyLink, Charter, Comcast, Dish and Verizon, had a surge in ratings in November because of programs that embraced Trump’s claims of voter fraud. One America News Network, a rightwing outlet carried by AT&T, CenturyLink and Verizon, also promoted the false theory.
Fox News, the most-watched cable news network, which is available from all major carriers, was one of five defendants in a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit filed this month by election technology company Smartmatic. In the suit, the company accused Fox News, its parent company Fox Corp., three Fox anchors and two frequent Fox guests of promoting false claims about the election and Smartmatic’s role in it.
Congress can raise the issue of whether cable providers bear responsibility for the programs they deliver to millions of Americans, but it may have no way to force them to drop networks that have spread misinformation. And unlike broadcast stations, cable channels do not have licenses that are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission.
The lawmakers’ letter asks the companies, “What steps did you take prior to, on, and following the Nov. 3, 2020 elections and the Jan. 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?”
“Are you planning to continue carrying Fox News, OANN, and Newsmax on your platform both now and beyond the renewal date?” the letter continues. “If so, why?”
Fox News denounced the congressional effort. “For individual members of Congress to highlight political speech they do not like and demand cable distributors engage in viewpoint discrimination sets a terrible precedent,” the network said in a statement. Newsmax defended its election coverage as accurate and called the letter an “attack on free speech.” A spokeswoman for Comcast declined to comment. None of the other companies to which the letter was sent replied to inquiries from The Times.