Why Deplatforming Newsmax Matters to Us — and to the World
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I’m sure the C-suite executives at AT&T and DirecTV never imagined the backlash they’d face from “canceling” Newsmax. But here’s something else I believe they didn’t think of … By deplatforming Newsmax they’re also silencing every relief organization that counts on reaching its audience. My nonprofit, CityServe, is one of them.
Team of volunteers stacking hands
Let me tell you why this matters … Each week, Newsmax TV gives scores of nonprofits, especially faith-based organizations, valuable airtime to communicate with a broader audience. They get to talk about their projects and why they matter to the broader community. And Newsmax has a reputation for being very generous with its airtime.
Newsmax sees the world in a way that transcends the common partisan struggles over money and politics. Now, I’m sure losing the opportunity to reach 13 million DirecTV viewers will impact Newsmax’s carriage and ad revenue. But AT&T and DirecTV need to understand who else is going to suffer.
Having just returned from a CityServe relief expedition to the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Kherson, where we delivered a second million meals and completed installation of five new “C-train” homes to house families displaced by war, I know all too well what this ill-conceived deplatforming is going to do.
Our work garnering support to provide the generators that give Ukrainians warmth and hope in winter just became far more difficult.
A key part of our strategy is communicating with patriotic, liberty-minded, socially conservative viewers. That is the Newsmax audience! Now, I’m frankly uncertain how we will reach over 13 million of them who clicked on their TVs and suddenly could no longer find their favorite news channel.
To many, it appears these giant multinational corporations are using Newsmax as a sacrificial lamb to try to appease “woke” activists. That’s above my pay grade. But what I do know is the consequences of their decision will reach far beyond Newsmax itself.
One of them was a young Ukrainian mother who’d fled Ukraine for Poland with her child to escape the war. She didn’t know the fate of her husband and she was all alone.
My CityServe colleagues and I prayed with her, provided food, and made sure she and her child had a warm, safe place to spend the night. Then we had to leave and said goodbye … but she clung to me in desperation.
“Please!” she wept. “Don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me!”
I will never forget her voice … she is continually in my prayers.
The executives occupying the corner offices of the glass towers that line the corporate canyons in our financial centers need to understand that when they shut down Newsmax or OAN, they are also closing off the ability of organizations like ours to help that woman and so many others facing a similar plight.
Or, for that matter, those whose homes were decimated by Hurricane Ian when it swept through the southwest Florida coast.
To me and my CityServe colleagues, what AT&T and DirecTV are doing to Newsmax isn’t just about politics, and it’s not purely about corporate finance, either.
To us it’s about reaching those with a heart to help the hurting. That’s why I’m calling today upon all Americans of faith to reach out to your local political representatives and let them know how you feel. We must stand together united, so those without a voice can still be heard.
And one other thing … please join us in praying that by God’s grace Newsmax will quickly be restored to DirecTV.
That would be an answer to prayer for all of us!
Author: Dave Donaldson is the co-founder and CEO of CityServe and CityServe International.
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