OAN Network, a right-wing cable news channel available in some 35 million households, has continued to broadcast segments questioning the validity of the 2020 presidential election.
The online news network, often noted for its affinity for former President Donald Trump, is currently dealing with the dissent from employees unhappy with the post-election coverage.
“There’s still serious doubts about who’s actually president,” OAN correspondent Pearson Sharp said in a March 28 report.
Some of OAN’s coverage has not had the full support of the staff. In interviews with 18 current and former OAN newsroom employees, 16 said the channel had broadcast reports that they considered misleading, inaccurate or untrue.
NEW: Staffers at One America News, the misinformation-peddling outlet favored by Trump, don’t think their own stories are true, & are cheering on lawsuits against the owners. One producer, re the Capitol riot: “That’s what happens when people listen to us” https://t.co/2ZL234P4aP
— Rachel C. Abrams (@RachelAbramsNY) April 18, 2021
Marty Golingan, a producer at OAN, told The New York Times that he was worried his work may have helped inspire the January 6 Capitol riot.
Golingan said that many of his colleagues, including himself, disagreed with the coverage. “The majority of people did not believe the voter fraud claims being run on the air,” he told the Times.
An absolutely 🍌 🍌 🍌 @RachelAbramsNY report from inside the OAN fake news factory. https://t.co/IZrLxBrDPq pic.twitter.com/PU8QX2V2CF
— Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) April 18, 2021
While OAN appeals to a relatively small audience, its coverage reflects views commonly held by Republicans. In a survey last month, Pew Research reported that 7% of Americans, including 14% of Republicans, had gotten political news from OAN.
By contrast, 43% of Americans and 62% of Republicans had gotten political news from Fox News, the survey found.
“Many people have raised concerns,” Allysia Britton, a news producer who recently left the network told The New York Times. “And the thing is, when people speak up about anything, you will get in trouble.”
The network last year doubled down on baseless conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems, even after the company sent a letter threatening to sue it for defamation. Charles Herring, OAN President, defended the network’s reporting to The New York Times.
“A review process with multiple checks is in place to ensure that news reporting meets the company’s journalist standards,” Herring said. “And, yes, we’ve had our fair share of mistakes, but we do our best to keep them to a minimum and learn from our missteps.”