PEARSON SHARP (OAN COMMENTATOR): Over the last few years, we've watched as countless independent, freethinking, and conservative organizations were shut down and censored by the radical left. Regrettably, that toxic cancel culture is still alive and well, and it's coming after One America News. Beginning July 30th, Verizon has decided it will no longer carry OAN. You can imagine why. Now we've had a lot of questions from our loyal customers, and we want to give you some answers and help you understand what's going on and what to expect in the future.
One America News has been with Verizon for many years, going all the way back to 2005, and we've had a great relationship with our staff and never had any reason to suspect that wouldn't continue. But when it came time to renew our contract this year, everything changed. We offered them an incredible deal to carry our channel at a substantially discounted rate, and they flat-out refused to continue carriage. More than that, Verizon decided that they wanted to tack on additional fees and make OAN an add-on service, costing their customers more money. Basically, at a time of historic inflation when people are stretching every penny to have enough to make ends meet, Verizon wanted to price gouge its customers for one of their favorite channels.
We made multiple offers to try and come to an agreement and Verizon not only refused to budge, but they cut off negotiations prematurely. They'd already made their decision, because Verizon, like many radical Marxist corporations, has proven that it's more interested in discriminating against independent voices than being a diversity leader. If our messaging, if our philosophy doesn't align with theirs, then Verizon is happy to censor us and shut us down. It's that simple.
It's a sad day when a media corporation with extreme market powers, a company that acts as a steward for the freedom of the press decides it wants to censor independent news channels. Verizon doesn't care what its customers want. They're letting us and their customers know that promoting their Marxist agenda is more important than keeping their subscribers happy.
And in case it isn't obvious, it isn't easy being an independent news channel. We face constant harassment, censorship from big tech, de-platforming, demonetization, cancel culture, and exclusion from broadcast networks with advocacy groups relentlessly attacking our network. Even members of Congress and the commander-in-thief himself, Joe Biden – members at the highest levels of our own government – are trying to censor and silence us. And that's on top of the daily death threats sent to us and our families. Oh, and by the way, all of this hatred and vitriol comes exclusively from those on the left. You know, the tolerant, peaceful, rational liberals.
Despite all of these attacks, One America News has always been proven right. And that's because we put the facts in front of popular narratives in our reporting. I know it all sounds like doom and gloom, but don't worry, One American News isn't going anywhere. We're going to continue delivering the same honest, credible, unbiased news, just as you've come to expect since 2013.
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And for our Verizon customers, you don't need to worry. We'll be giving you three months absolutely free to help make up for the harm and discrimination caused by Verizon. Tell your family and friends they can download the OAN live app right from your phone's app store, stream from your computer, or watch on your TV from the comfort of your living room. All of the hard-hitting, credible reporting you've come to expect from One America News will be right there and will never be censored. So stand for the First Amendment and stand for One America News. Cancel your Verizon subscription and join us over on OAN live where the freedom of the press and not leftist cancel culture will always be alive and well. For One America News and the still-free press, I'm Pearson Sharp.