DirecTV subscribers got a new propaganda source in January: a channel called “The First.” It features content from five personalities too extreme for other platforms… including Bill O’Reilly and Dana Loesch.
Not too extreme for DirecTV!
The cable provider stopped providing Newsmax in January due to not agreeing on a contract, but has kindly provided a redirect on the former Newsmax channel’s placeholder in the on-screen cable directory. Here’s what DirecTV says:
“We remain open to working with Newsmax to return them to DirecTV. In the meantime, you can stream them for free online or via popular app stores. You can also watch the newest conservative news network on DirecTV The First, on Channel 349.”
What a hell of an endorsement. We don’t have Newsmax propaganda, but we do have new The First content for you! Never fear! Wait! We mean… always fear! Fear everything! Get your fear here!
Here’s a sample:
I’m sorry for even sharing that. I wanted to give a peek, and this was the least nasty video I could come up with from their recent YouTube videos. The other recent ones had terrible screenshots that I just could not bring myself to share.
For example, the second option in the recent YouTube video line-up is for “The 3 Stooges,” and pictures Hunter Biden, President Biden, and Vice President Harris. That’s not even something I can conscientiously hyperlink to.
I’d provide a summary of The First content, but there’s no way to summarize it. They pack more inconsistencies and spectacular, absurd, illogical claims in one sentence than you could ever efficiently refute. It would take 10 minutes per sentence. It’s too damn much. They have a YouTube channel if you need some immersion-aversion therapy. Wikipedia has a short history on The First — it’s apparently been around on a streaming platform since late 2019.
It’s appalling and disturbing that a major cable provider has added this new The First channel, and that they’re repointing irritated former Newsmax followers to it. And they are irritated — apparently former Newsmax followers are pressuring Republican members of Congress to “look into” why DirecTV stopped carrying Newsmax. Perhaps that’s part of why DirecTV is trying to throw them a bone by promoting The First in lieu of Newsmax? Still doesn’t make it right.
It’s equally disturbing that they even hosted Newsmax, and still host FOX. DirecTV is not alone — Dish Network, Comcast’s XFinity, and several streaming services also carry Newsmax and FOX.
The fact that these channels are carried by cable companies with service fees as part of packages is one of the reasons it’s difficult to put consumer pressure on advertisers to stop carrying them. It’s a multi-step problem, and we’re not great at pushing solutions to those.
And the channels are popular. Anger is addictive. The spectacular untruths, lies, biases, fear, and hatred are destabilizing our friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues.
How do you counter all that?
I think part of it is that we have to support local and national media sources with reliable reporting — including by paying for subscriptions where possible.
Part of it is to drive the narrative on the channels that aren’t propagandized in order to help be proactive rather than reactive on messaging. We (the majority of Americans) are not yet driving the narrative overall. Republicans have driven so much of the narrative for the last 30 or so years… the media empires on TV and radio help tremendously.
That push over decades has helped to push the Overton window so far to the right that things that would have been unacceptable even a few years ago are now a regular part of national news. Non-far-right media spend a certain amount of time reacting to the absurdities shown on far-right media platforms, often by far-right personalities given platforms and airtime. Why? Partly because the content there is so insane. But partly because Democrats are not driving the narrative, either. We’re not creating spectacle… or even creating activity that warrants — or demands — coverage.
Ramping up attention and coverage can help us to prioritize what we collectively focus on, value, prioritize, and act on as a country. That’s why driving the narrative is important. It informs the direction we’re headed in.
When far-right narratives are taking up all the oxygen, the direction we’re headed in overall in the country is to the far right. More propaganda channels like this new one make it worse.
Help us shift that to a different direction. Share this post around and help us get other folks signed up. Volunteer here. Donate here or on ActBlue, or get a paid subscription here. We’ll announce Zoom calls and other activity from this page to ramp activity up as we get things moving.
Be well, be safe, and look after humans.
Onward.