WASHINGTON, March 24 (UPI) — Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders slammed the mainstream media on an Internet news show, calling television networks “an arm of the ruling class.”
Sanders, who trails front-runner Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, said major media companies like Comcast, owner of NBC, and Disney, which owns ABC, do not discuss “real issues” because it’s to their benefit to keep most Americans ignorant about them.
Speaking on “The Young Turks” YouTube show, Sanders called cable giant Comcast one of the “most detested” companies in America and singled out Disney for paying workers at its amusement parks $8 or $9 per hour, and failing to talk about income inequality.
Sanders was also asked about Time Warner, Comcast and other companies that have donated to Clinton’s campaigns over her career. Sanders agreed with the host that the news anchors covering the campaign should have to disclose those donations when talking about the presidential election.
Sanders added that major media companies are in favor of the Supreme Court‘s decision in Citizens United v. FEC, in which the court ruled 5-4 that the government could not restrict independent expenditures by corporations in political campaigns.
“You think you see NBC talking about Citizens United? I don’t think so,” he said. “They love Citizens United, all the super PAC money going in.”
