Civil Rights Organizations Cheer Verizon's Decision to Drop One America From Its Network

WASHINGTON, DC (August 12, 2022) – Today, the National Urban League and National Action Network commended Verizon for ending its contract with One American Network (OAN) – the latest network to drop the conservative outlet for spreading false information and conspiracy theories that helped incite the deadly January 6 insurrection.

“Verizon’s announcement to terminate its contract with OAN officially ended the right-wing network’s relationship with its largest distributor, thus reducing its viewership and platform,” said Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League. “OAN has done nothing but spew conspiracy theories and harmful rhetoric that contributed to the horrifying attack on January 6th and jeopardized this nation’s democracy. I am glad Verizon joined DirectTV in minimizing the spread of hate speech on its platform.”

“Verizon made the right call in taking the conspiracy theories and hateful rhetoric spouted out by OAN off of its airwaves,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network. “OAN has whittled away at the foundation of our democracy with its warped view of the world, poisoning the minds of millions of Americans with misinformation. I applaud Verizon and DirectTV for reversing course and getting this network off the air.” 

The decision for Verizon to end its contract with OAN comes after DirectTV ended its contract a few months ago. The civil rights leaders had long raised concerns about OAN, calling on media companies to end their contracts with the conservative outlet for spreading hate speech and misinformation.