"Morning Joe's" Net Neutrality Conflict Of Interest

MSNBC's Harold Ford, Jr. used air time to push network neutrality myths without disclosing his relationship to the telecommunications industry, which has contributed millions of dollars to lobbying against net neutrality regulations. On the February 5 edition of MSNBC's "Morning Joe", political analyst Harold Ford, Jr. raised the issue of net neutrality, claiming that the proposed Federal Communications Commission plan to regulate internet service as a utility would "stifle investment.

Neither Ford nor MSNBC disclosed that the analyst is an "honorary co-chair" of Broadband for America, an industry-funded group whose members have included major national broadband providers like Comcast (a parent company of MSNBC), Cox Communications, and Verizon. Among its members, Broadband for America received a $2 million donation from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, which has spent millions of dollars to lobby against net neutrality regulations.