October, 07 2021, 02:50pm EDT
UltraViolet Says AT&T CEO John Stankey Should End Company's Relationship With Radical Right-Wing Media Outlet OAN, Stop Donations to Anti-Choice Politicians--or Step Down
UltraViolet Says AT&T’s Role Creating & Funding One America News Network and Campaign Donations to Extremist Anti-Choice Politicians Are Unacceptable
WASHINGTON
In response to reports of the world's largest telecommunications company AT&T's One America News Network, and AT&T's funding of radical anti-choice politicians behind Texas' new abortion ban, Sonja Spoo, director or reproductive rights campaigns at UltraViolet, a leading national women's group, issued the following statement:
"The leadership and tenure of now CEO and former COO John Stankey at AT&T is marked by his enabling of the radical, right-wing conspiracy platform One America News and the funding for anti-choice politicians behind Texas' dangerous abortion ban.
"This shameful legacy ties AT&T to the violent insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6th, the spread of fatal COVID-19 misinformation, and new laws in Texas that undermine the right to vote and obstruct access to abortion care.
"If John Stankey is unwilling to correct this course by severing ties with OAN, firing anti-abortion extremist Ed Gillepsie, and pledging to stop funding right-wing, racist, and anti-woman politicians he should step down."
In addition to reports that AT&T helped fuel the growth and profitability of One America News network, AT&T also helped legitimize politicians pushing the radical agenda that facilitated the passage of Texas' newest abortion law.
According to UltraViolet, in 2020 alone, AT&T donated $291,042 to specific Republican lawmakers who sponsored Texas' cruel abortion ban. These donations are dangerous and directly responsible for laws like SB8, which harm the health and rights of AT&T's workers, consumers, and the Texas community.
Read more here: https://weareultraviolet.org/corporate-political-spending-in-texas/
UltraViolet is a powerful and rapidly growing community of people mobilized to fight sexism and create a more inclusive world that accurately represents all women, from politics and government to media and pop culture.
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