Thread by @JuddLegum

1. This is a quick story about how @ATT uses money and power to manipulate public perception of its brand and censor critics.

Follow along if interested.

@ATT 2. As I've detailed in popular.info, @ATT is a major supporter of state legislators pushing voter suppression laws.

For example, they contributed 575K to the sponsors of Texas' voter suppression bill

popular.info/p/texas-voter-…

@ATT 3. Last Friday, September 3, @Greenpeace purchased a digital billboard in the Chinatown neighborhood in DC. The billboard is right above DC's flagship @ATT store.

It said: "DON'T LET AT&T WRECK OUR DEMOCRACY. TELL AT&T TO STOP FUNDING RACIST VOTER SUPPRESSION"

4. @Greenpeace's digital ad was supposed to run for 10 days. But was taken down after just 2 days.

Why?

The company that operates the billboard told @Greenpeace that "their property partner complained about the content."

@Greenpeace 5. If you walk by the same billboard TODAY, it is an @ATT ad.

It says: "BE THERE. STAND FOR EQUALITY. EMBRACE FREEDOM. MAKE A DIFFERENCE."

6. So @ATT is using its economic power to censor accurate messages about its funding of voter suppression laws that target minority voters and then replacing those messages with marketing claiming that it stands for "equality"

@ATT 7. This is the same approach @ATT is using in response to our recent reporting identifying AT&T as a top funder of Texas' abortion ban. It is ignoring all requests for comment but promoting tweets that cast AT&T as a champion of women.

popular.info/p/these-corpor…

8. This all happens behind closed doors.

@ATT does not want you to know what politicians it is supporting and it does not want you to know how it uses its economic power to censor critics.

9. This is why independent media is so critical

@ATT owns several major media outlets, including CNN. That makes it awkward, at best, for these outlets to report on AT&T

And it's why popular.info does not accept advertising

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