Al Sharpton Screengrab - H 2013
A conservative Tea Party organization launched an anti-MSNBC campaign Thursday that will involve sending emails to 2.3 million people urging them to dump the channel’s parent company, Comcast, as their cable TV provider.
The campaign, from FreedomWorks, also includes an online video that focuses entirely on Al Sharpton, an MSNBC host the organization portrays as “a known race-card hustler” and believes its membership has a particular disdain for.
“By paying your Comcast cable bill, your money is helping to pay for Al Sharpton’s salary … Switch your cable provider now,” the video says.
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Insiders say the video, or one like it, will also be turned into a TV commercial that will air in regions where Comcast is prevalent.
The email, which is scheduled to hit in-boxes Thursday night, informs readers that, “Cable company Comcast owns the left-wing media outlet MSNBC that broadcasts propaganda instead of news … If you have Comcast, tell CEO Brian Roberts you don’t want to pay for propaganda.”
The email, as well as the FreedomWorks Facebook page, which boasts more than 4 million fans, links to an online site containing the video and asking readers to pledge to dump Comcast. The site even links to alternative providers such as Dish Network, DirecTV, Verizon and AT&T.
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The “pledge to switch” page says: “Comcast cable subscribers can take action against Roberts and his biased media empire by changing their cable TV service provider. By exercising marketplace choice, consumers can prevent their money from supporting media propaganda and paying the salaries of Al Sharpton and Chris Matthews.”
Comcast has 22 million TV subscribers in the U.S. and 20 million high-speed Internet subscribers. It’s also the parent company of NBCUniversal, which operates 30 television networks as well as a film studio and theme parks.
Comcast, NBCUniversal and MSNBC did not respond to requests for comment.
See the anti-MSNBC video below.
Email: Paul.Bond@THR.com
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