It’s the stuff of conspiracy theories, but a growing number of people are questioning the validity of the show’s C-SPAN commercial and what they consider to be its overuse of racial epithets.
It’s a topic that has dominated media coverage for the past week, but ABC News decided to dig deeper into the issue.
C-span is the commercial network’s most popular show on the network, with its advertisers paying more than $5 billion to be featured on the air.
And it’s also been criticized by some viewers and critics for its use of racial and ethnic slurs in its advertisements.
CSA member and political commentator John Sifton has repeatedly questioned the appropriateness of the commercial, arguing that it perpetuates the idea that the American political system is stacked against the black community.
He says that while CSA has its faults, the network has consistently shown that it is not biased, and he believes that it should be avoided at all costs.
“We have to make sure that this show does not perpetuate the idea of a system where people of color have less power than white people,” Sifson told ABC News.
“The fact that they are the ones that are the victims is not a justification for them not being the victims.
The fact that their lives are more complicated than theirs is not an excuse for not doing the right thing.”
Sifston has long been critical of the network for its portrayal of black people.
“There’s a very real perception that the black-white disparity in the American system is more severe than the perception that it’s more severe in the African-American community,” he said.
“It’s a problem that’s going to continue to exist, and it’s going be more prevalent in the future, as the world gets smaller.”
And it doesn’t stop there.
While the network is known for its liberal stance on social issues like same-sex marriage, the CSA is also known for making controversial political statements on issues like abortion.
Last month, it aired a spot featuring comedian and civil rights activist Bill Cosby.
The spot featured a clip of Cosby performing at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in which he called for a new civil rights movement and called black people “the dirtiest and most vicious people on the planet.”
CSA’s political commentary has also caused controversy in the past, as it ran a video in 2015 that featured actor and civil right activist George Takei discussing his views on race.
In the video, Takei said he’s “totally for [a] black man to say he’s proud to be an American.”
In an interview with The Huffington Post, Takeis said that while he has never endorsed anyone for President, he is “not trying to be controversial.
I’m just trying to make a point.”
“The problem is that I don’t see myself as a white person,” he continued.
“I’m not interested in having white people vote for me.”
As a result, Takeisi’s comments drew criticism from civil rights groups and some politicians, and the commercial aired before Takei was officially nominated to be President.
Sifons criticism of CSA, which has been widely criticized, is not surprising.
He believes that CSA intentionally promotes and perpetuates racism to make it seem as if the show is impartial.
“They’re trying to say that this is the show where everyone is equal, and that is clearly not the case,” he told ABC.
“In fact, in the commercial we see the exact opposite.
They’re saying, ‘We’re not going to take the position that all Americans are equal, but we’re going to make an exception for white people.'”
Sifts complaint about CSA stems from the fact that the commercial’s use of the term “white trash” is one that has been used by the show since its inception, and Siftons complaint is that it was chosen as a symbol for racism by many viewers and commentators.
“When you say, ‘This is the worst show ever,’ that is a very dangerous phrase,” Siffson said.
SIFTS criticism of the ad is not unique to CSA.
Many other advertisers have come under fire over the years for using racially insensitive language.
Earlier this month, several major advertisers, including Walmart and the NFL, came under fire for using a racial slur in an ad that showed a black person sitting on a train.
In response, Walmart released a statement saying it would stop using “racially insensitive” language in future ads.
The backlash was so intense that Walmart CEO Doug McMillon issued an apology on behalf of the company.
The ad, however, wasn’t the first time the company used racial language in an advertisement.
In 2016, a CSA commercial featured a black man standing in front of a mural of the Confederate flag and then, after making a racist comment, he walks away.
McMillon was subsequently suspended for three days. Siff