DirecTV Tells GOP That Newsmax Is Peddling ‘False Claims’

DirecTV continues to push back against claims from conservatives that it is actively “censoring” right-wing content by “de-platforming” Newsmax, this time telling a group of Republican senators that it’s actually the pro-Trump channel that “dropped” the pay-TV provider.

Over the past few weeks, Newsmax has accused DirecTV, and its corporate parents AT&T and TPG Capital, of engaging in “political discrimination and censorship” by dropping the channel after negotiations over a new deal fell apart last month. DirecTV, on the other hand, has insisted that this is merely a standard business dispute, noting that it balked at Newsmax’s demands for increased license fees to remain on its channel lineup.

Earlier this month, a group of four GOP senators—including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC)—sent the CEOs of DirecTV and its corporate partners a letter expressing how they were “deeply disturbed” over the cable carrier’s decision to remove Newsmax, claiming it “harms” millions of their constituents.

Read more at The Daily Beast.