Rand Paul cancels DirecTV subscription after it drops OAN

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says he is canceling his subscription to DirecTV after the company announced plans to drop pro-Trump conservative cable channel One America News (OAN) from its listings. 

“Why give money to people who hate us?” Paul said in a tweet sent on Monday. 

DirecTV on Friday made public its plans to not renew its contract with OAN, saying it had made the decision following “a routine internal review.” 

Other Trump-loyal Republican lawmakers and conservative activists slammed DirecTV’s decision over the weekend, claiming the move is evidence of a larger effort by powerful media companies to censor or sideline conservative viewpoints. 

“The Left’s purge continues: -YouTube demonetizes Dan Bongino. -DirectTV drops One America News. -Twitter suspends Dr. Malone. Who’s next?” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said in a tweet of his own. 

“Pretty convenient that this comes within a week after Biden begged companies to silence ‘misinformation’, meaning his opposition,” commented Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Col.). 

OAN is one of several conservative media entities that have been sued in recent months for allegedly broadcasting false or defamatory claims about the 2020 presidential election results.

An investigative report from Reuters in October found nearly all of OAN’s revenue came from a single contract with telecom giant AT&T, which owns and operates DirecTV. 

Verizon Fios and smaller carriers have maintained OAN, and it is available to stream online through KloudTV, The Hill previously reported. 

AT&T had faced increasing pressure to sever its ties to OAN following the recent lawsuits and other controversial content being broadcast on its airwaves.