Fox News Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Content== ===Benghazi attack and aftermath=== {{Further|2012 Benghazi attack}} Fox News provided extensive coverage of the [[2012 Benghazi attack]], which host Sean Hannity described in December 2012 as "the story that the mainstream media ignores" and "obviously, a cover-up. And we will get to the bottom of it."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2017/11/09/why-has-fox-news-abandoned-benghazi/ |title=Opinion – Why has Fox News abandoned Benghazi? |last=Wemple |first=Erik |date=November 9, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 2, 2018 |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030171049/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2017/11/09/why-has-fox-news-abandoned-benghazi/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Programming analysis by media watchdog [[Media Matters]], which has declared a "War on Fox News", found that during the twenty months following the Benghazi attacks, FNC ran 1,098 segments on the issue, including:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2014/09/16/report-foxs-benghazi-obsession-by-the-numbers/200694 |title=Report: Fox's Benghazi Obsession By The Numbers |first1=Rob |last1=Savillo |first2=Hannah |last2=Groch-Begley |date=September 9, 2014 |website=[[Media Matters]] |access-date=August 2, 2018 |archive-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726144045/https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2014/09/16/report-foxs-benghazi-obsession-by-the-numbers/200694 |url-status=live }}</ref> * 478 segments involving Susan Rice's September 16, 2012, Sunday news show appearances, during which she was falsely accused of lying * 382 segments on ''[[Special Report (TV program)|Special Report]]'', the network's flagship news program * 281 segments alleging a "cover-up" by the Obama administration * 144 interviews of GOP members of Congress, but five interviews of Democratic members of Congress and Obama administration officials * 120 comparisons to [[Iran-Contra]], [[Watergate]], and the actions of the Nixon administration * 100 segments falsely suggesting the administration issued a "stand-down order" to prevent a rescue operation in Benghazi Over nearly four years after the Benghazi attack, there were [[Investigation into the 2012 Benghazi attack|ten official investigations]], including six by Republican-controlled House committees. None of the investigations found any evidence of scandal, cover-up or lying by Obama administration officials. ===Uranium One=== {{Further|Uranium One controversy}} From 2015 into 2018, Fox News broadcast extensive coverage of an alleged scandal surrounding the sale of [[Uranium One]] to Russian interests, which host Sean Hannity characterized as "one of the biggest scandals in American history".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/10/25/hannity-uranium-one-deal-was-biggest-scandal-american-history-nda-lifted-informant |title=Hannity: Uranium One Deal 'One of the Biggest Scandals in American History' |date=October 26, 2017 |publisher=Fox News |access-date=August 3, 2018 |archive-date=August 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803074024/http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/10/25/hannity-uranium-one-deal-was-biggest-scandal-american-history-nda-lifted-informant |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Media Matters, the Fox News coverage extended throughout the programming day, with particular emphasis by Hannity.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/11/09/study-fox-spent-nearly-12-hours-pushing-uranium-one-pseudoscandal-over-last-three-weeks/218475 |title=Study: Fox spent nearly 12 hours pushing the Uranium One pseudoscandal over the last three weeks |first=Matt |last=Gertz |date=November 8, 2017 |website=Media Matters |access-date=August 3, 2018 |archive-date=August 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803044454/https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/11/09/study-fox-spent-nearly-12-hours-pushing-uranium-one-pseudoscandal-over-last-three-weeks/218475 |url-status=live }}</ref> The network promoted an ultimately unfounded narrative asserting that, as Secretary of State, [[Hillary Clinton]] personally approved the Uranium One sale in exchange for $145 million in bribes paid to the [[Clinton Foundation]]. [[Donald Trump]] repeated these allegations as a candidate and as president.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://factba.se/search#%22uranium+one%22 |title=Donald Trump Complete – Search Tweets, Speeches, Policies |website=Factbase |access-date=August 3, 2018 |archive-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210205739/https://factba.se/search#%22uranium+one%22 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="WPFoxdebunk">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/11/15/fox-news-shepherd-smith-debunks-his-networks-hillary-clinton-scandal-story-infuriates-viewers/ |title=Fox News's Shepard Smith debunks his network's favorite Hillary Clinton 'scandal,' infuriates viewers |first=Fred |last=Barbash |date=November 15, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 3, 2018 |archive-date=November 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115060241/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/11/15/fox-news-shepherd-smith-debunks-his-networks-hillary-clinton-scandal-story-infuriates-viewers/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A9EV64aX_Q | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/7A9EV64aX_Q| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Fox News Reports: Sean Hannity Is a Liar |author=fb |date=November 15, 2017 |via=YouTube |access-date=August 3, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> No evidence of wrongdoing by Clinton had been found after four years of allegations, an FBI investigation, and the 2017 appointment of a Federal attorney to evaluate the investigation. In November 2017, Fox News host [[Shepard Smith]] concisely debunked the alleged scandal, infuriating viewers who suggested he should work for CNN or MSNBC.<ref name="WPFoxdebunk"/> Hannity later called Smith "clueless", while Smith stated: "I get it, that some of our opinion programming is there strictly to be entertaining. I get that. I don't work there. I wouldn't work there."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/television/shepard-smith-fox-news-trump-sean-hannity-20180316.html |title=Fox News fight: Shepard Smith, Sean Hannity trade insults |first=Rob |last=Tornoe |date=March 16, 2018 |newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |access-date=August 3, 2018 |archive-date=August 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803044423/http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/television/shepard-smith-fox-news-trump-sean-hannity-20180316.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/shepard-smith-calls-out-fox-news-opinion-programming-those-shows-exist-strictly-to-be-entertaining/ |title=Shepard Smith on Fox News 'Opinion Programming': Shows Exist 'Strictly to Be Entertaining' |first=Caleb |last=Ecarma |date=March 15, 2018 |website=Mediaite.com |access-date=August 3, 2018 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111201600/https://www.mediaite.com/tv/shepard-smith-calls-out-fox-news-opinion-programming-those-shows-exist-strictly-to-be-entertaining/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ===Pro-Republican and pro-Trump bias=== Fox News has been described as [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] media,<ref name="DellaVigna-2007">{{cite journal|last1=DellaVigna|first1=Stefano|last2=Kaplan|first2=Ethan|date=August 1, 2007|title=The Fox News Effect: Media Bias and Voting|journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics|volume=122|issue=3|pages=1187–1234|citeseerx=10.1.1.333.4616|doi=10.1162/qjec.122.3.1187|issn=0033-5533|s2cid=16610755}}</ref><ref name="Azari-2016">{{Cite journal |last=Azari |first=Julia |author-link=Julia Azari |year=2016 |title=How the News Media Helped to Nominate Trump |journal=[[Political Communication (journal)|Political Communication]] |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=678–679 |doi=10.1080/10584609.2016.1224417 |s2cid=151773937 |quote=It makes sense to consider whether conservative media (namely, Fox News) function in this institutional capacity.}}</ref> and as providing [[Media bias|biased reporting]] in favor of conservative political positions,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-outrage-industry-9780199928972 |title=The Outrage Industry: Political Opinion Media and the New Incivility |last1=Berry |first1=Jeffrey M. |last2=Sobieraj |first2=Sarah |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19992-897-2 |location=Oxford, New York |pages=110–111 |quote=As trade publication Broadcasting & Cable put it, Fox has created 'a clear and strong brand, and an unwavering commitment to stick with it. Viewers, advertisers and cable operators all know what they're getting.' 'Unwavering' is apt; no matter how much it is criticized for the ideological nature of its content, Fox remains unbowed. It continues to deliver a strong conservative perspective throughout its programming ... over the years Fox has actually moved further to the right. |access-date=May 11, 2018 |archive-date=December 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229171814/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-outrage-industry-9780199928972?cc=us&lang=en& |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15571.html |title=Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics |last=Hemmer |first=Nicole |author-link=Nicole Hemmer |date=2016 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-81222-430-6 |access-date=May 11, 2018 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230090916/https://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15571.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Rydgren-2018">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XD9FDwAAQBAJ&q=fox+news&pg=PA269 |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Radical Right |last=Rydgren |first=Jens |date=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19027-455-9 |page=273 |quote=The way the conservative media, especially Fox News, reported on the initial Tea Party demonstrations illuminates the momentum the media can give to a start-up movement. Fox became an amplifier of Tea Party activism and rhetoric, giving national momentum to its predominantly local demonstrations.}}</ref> the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]],<ref name="LaMonica2009">{{cite book |title=Inside Rupert's Brain |first=Paul |last=La Monica |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-10101-659-6 |page=5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Benkler |first1=Yochai |last2=Faris |first2=Robert |last3=Roberts |first3=Hal |date=November 29, 2018 |title=The Fox Diet |doi=10.1093/oso/9780190923624.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19092-366-2 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=http://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/28351/1/9780190923624.pdf |access-date=August 23, 2020 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807211535/https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/28351/9780190923624.pdf?sequence=1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Grossmann |first1=Matt |last2=Hopkins |first2=David A. |date=February 27, 2019 |title=From Fox News to Viral Views: The Influence of Ideological Media in the 2018 Elections |journal=The Forum |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=547–567 |doi=10.1515/for-2018-0037 |s2cid=150481237 |issn=1540-8884}}</ref> and President Donald Trump.<ref name="Kludt-2018">{{Cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/02/28/media/fox-news-jared-kushner-security-clearance/index.html |title=Fox News has avoided talking about Jared Kushner's security clearance |last=Kludt |first=Tom |date=February 28, 2018 |work=CNN Money |access-date=February 28, 2018 |quote=The network claims a uniquely powerful role in the pro-Trump echo chamber, setting the agenda for both the president and his millions of supporters. In this vein, Trump is rarely cast in an unfavorable light and the so called 'mainstream media' draws little praise. Bad news, like the one surrounding Kushner, routinely gets glossed over. |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403070519/https://money.cnn.com/2018/02/28/media/fox-news-jared-kushner-security-clearance/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Schwartz-2017b">{{Cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/21/mark-levin-fox-trump-host-255549 |title=Fox adds another pro-Trump host |first=Jason |last=Schwartz |date=November 21, 2017 |website=Politico |access-date=November 22, 2017 |archive-date=December 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229225437/https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/21/mark-levin-fox-trump-host-255549 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Benkler |first1=Yochai |last2=Faris |first2=Robert |last3=Roberts |first3=Hal |date=November 29, 2018 |title=Epistemic Crisis |doi=10.1093/oso/9780190923624.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19092-366-2 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=http://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/28351/1/9780190923624.pdf |access-date=August 23, 2020 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807211535/https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/28351/9780190923624.pdf?sequence=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Political scientist Jonathan Bernstein described Fox News as an expanded part of the Republican Party.<ref name="Grossman-2016"/> Political scientists Matt Grossmann and David A. Hopkins wrote that Fox News helped "Republicans communicate with their base and spread their ideas, and they have been effective in mobilizing voters to participate in midterm elections (as in 2010 and 2014)."<ref name="Grossman-2016"/> Prior to 2000, Fox News lacked an ideological tilt, and had more Democrats watch the channel than Republicans.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/asymmetric-politics-9780190626600?cc=is&lang=en& |title=Asymmetric Politics: Ideological Republicans and Group Interest Democrats |last1=Grossman |first1=Matt |last2=Hopkins |first2=David A. |date=October 13, 2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19062-660-0 |location=Oxford, New York |pages=158–159 |access-date=May 11, 2018 |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028153405/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/asymmetric-politics-9780190626600?cc=is&lang=en& |url-status=live }}</ref> During the [[2004 United States presidential election]], Fox News was markedly more hostile in its coverage of Democratic presidential nominee [[John Kerry]], and distinguished itself among cable news outlets for heavy coverage of the [[Swiftboating|Swift Boat smear campaign]] against Kerry.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/echo-chamber-9780195398601 |title=Echo Chamber: Rush Limbaugh and the Conservative Media Establishment |last1=Jamieson |first1=Kathleen Hall |last2=Cappella |first2=Joseph N. |date=February 4, 2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19539-860-1 |location=Oxford, New York |page=5 |access-date=May 11, 2018 |archive-date=June 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612104608/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/echo-chamber-9780195398601?cc=us&lang=en& |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Major |first1=Mark |last2=Andersen |first2=David J. |date=October 27, 2016 |title=Polls and Elections: Swift Boating Reconsidered: News Coverage of Negative Presidential Ads |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=891–910 |doi=10.1111/psq.12324 |issn=0360-4918}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Skinner |first=Richard M. |date=January 10, 2005 |title=Do 527's Add Up to a Party? Thinking About the 'Shadows' of Politics |journal=The Forum |volume=3 |issue=3 |doi=10.2202/1540-8884.1098 |s2cid=145781626 |issn=1540-8884}}</ref> During President Obama's first term in office, Fox News helped launch and amplify the [[Tea Party movement]], a conservative movement within the Republican Party that organized protests against Obama and his policies.{{refn|<ref name="Skocpol-2016"/><ref name="Rydgren-2018"/><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-outrage-industry-9780199928972 |title=The Outrage Industry: Political Opinion Media and the New Incivility |last1=Berry |first1=Jeffrey M. |last2=Sobieraj |first2=Sarah |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19992-897-2 |location=Oxford, New York |pages=156–160 |access-date=May 11, 2018 |archive-date=December 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229171814/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-outrage-industry-9780199928972?cc=us&lang=en& |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Grossman-2016b">{{cite book |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/asymmetric-politics-9780190626600 |title=Asymmetric Politics: Ideological Republicans and Group Interest Democrats |last1=Grossman |first1=Matt |last2=Hopkins |first2=David A. |date=October 13, 2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19062-660-0 |location=Oxford, New York |pages=178–179 |access-date=May 11, 2018 |archive-date=May 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518134531/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/asymmetric-politics-9780190626600?cc=us&lang=en& |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.routledge.com/Crashing-the-Tea-Party-Mass-Media-and-the-Campaign-to-Remake-American/Street-Dimaggio/p/book/9781315635408 |title=Crashing the Tea Party: Mass Media and the Campaign to Remake American Politics |first1=Paul |last1=Street |first2=Anthony R. |last2=Dimaggio |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |location=London, UK |pages=139–141 |isbn=978-1-31563-540-8 |access-date=May 11, 2018 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230094241/https://www.routledge.com/Crashing-the-Tea-Party-Mass-Media-and-the-Campaign-to-Remake-American/Street-Dimaggio/p/book/9781315635408 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.routledge.com/Understanding-the-Tea-Party-Movement/Dyke-Meyer/p/book/9781315549088 |title=Understanding the Tea Party Movement |editor-first1=David S. |editor-last1=Meyer |editor-first2=Nella |editor-last2=Van Dyke |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |location=London, UK |pages=41–42 |isbn=978-1-31554-908-8 |access-date=May 11, 2018 |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111155958/https://www.routledge.com/Understanding-the-Tea-Party-Movement/Dyke-Meyer/p/book/9781315549088 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/populism-a-very-short-introduction-9780190234874 |title=Populism: A Very Short Introduction |last1=Mudde |first1=Cas |last2=Kaltwasser |first2=Cristóbal Rovira |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19023-487-4 |series=Very Short Introductions |location=Oxford, New York |page=114 |access-date=May 20, 2018 |archive-date=December 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229172732/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/populism-a-very-short-introduction-9780190234874?cc=pl&lang=en |url-status=live }}</ref>}} During the [[2016 Republican Party presidential primaries|Republican primaries]], Fox News was perceived as trying to prevent Trump from clinching the nomination.<ref name="Azari-2016"/> Under Trump's presidency, Fox News remade itself into his image, as hardly any criticism of Trump could be heard on Fox News' prime-time shows.<ref name="Schwartz-2017b"/><ref name="Schwartz-2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/09/fox-news-trump-presidency-244712 |title=Fox, facing new competitors, clings tighter to Trump |first=Jason |last=Schwartz |date=November 9, 2017 |website=Politico |access-date=November 9, 2017 |archive-date=December 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229224423/https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/09/fox-news-trump-presidency-244712 |url-status=live }}</ref> In Fox News' news reporting, the network dedicated far more coverage to Hillary Clinton-related stories, which critics argued was intended to deflect attention from the investigation into [[Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections]].<ref name="Schwartz-2017"/> Trump provided significant access to Fox News during his presidency, giving 19 interviews to the channel while only 6 in total to other news channels by November 2017; ''[[The New York Times]]'' described Trump's Fox News interviews as "softball interviews" and some of the interviewers' interview styles as "fawning".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/arts/television/president-trump-finds-his-tv-niche-in-softball-interviews.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/arts/television/president-trump-finds-his-tv-niche-in-softball-interviews.html |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=President Trump Finds His TV Niche in Softball Interviews |last=Poniewozik |first=James |date=November 10, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=November 10, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In July 2018, ''[[The Economist]]'' has described the network's coverage of Trump's presidency as "reliably fawning".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/07/30/donald-trumps-attacks-on-the-media-may-have-backfired |title=Donald Trump's attacks on the media may have backfired |date=July 30, 2018 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230054949/https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/07/30/donald-trumps-attacks-on-the-media-may-have-backfired |url-status=live }}</ref> From 2015 to 2017, the Fox News prime-time lineup changed from being skeptical and questioning of Trump to a "Trump safe space, with a dose of [[Bannonist]] populism once considered on the fringe".<ref name="Grynbaum-2017b"/> The Fox News website has also become more extreme in its rhetoric since Trump's election; according to [[Columbia University]]'s Tow Center for Digital Journalism, the Fox News website has "gone a little ''[[Breitbart]]''" over time.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/23/fox-news-website-breitbart-312326 |title=Fox News website beefs up and 'goes a little Breitbart' |first=Jason |last=Schwartz |date=December 23, 2017 |work=Politico |access-date=December 23, 2017 |archive-date=December 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207225027/https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/23/fox-news-website-breitbart-312326 |url-status=live }}</ref> At the start of 2018, Fox News mostly ignored high-profile scandals in the Trump administration which received ample coverage in other national media outlets, such as White House Staff Secretary [[Rob Porter]]'s resignation amid domestic abuse allegations, the downgrading of [[Jared Kushner]]'s security clearance, and the existence of a [[non-disclosure agreement]] between Trump and the porn star [[Stormy Daniels]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/08/media/pro-trump-media-stormy-daniels/index.html |title=Pro-Trump media sweeps Stormy Daniels story under rug |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |date=March 8, 2018 |work=CNN Money |access-date=March 8, 2018 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230051956/https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/08/media/pro-trump-media-stormy-daniels/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 2019, [[Jane Mayer]] reported in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' that Fox News.com reporter [[Diana Falzone]] had the story of the [[Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal]] before the 2016 election, but that Fox News executive [[Ken LaCorte]] told her: "Good reporting, kiddo. But Rupert [Murdoch] wants Donald Trump to win. So just let it go." The story was killed; LaCorte denied making the statement to Falzone, but conceded: "I was the person who made the call. I didn't run it upstairs to Roger Ailes or others. ... I didn't do it to protect Donald Trump." She added that "[Falzone] had put up a story that just wasn't anywhere close to being something I was comfortable publishing." [[Nik Richie]], who claimed to be one of the sources for the story, called LaCorte's account "complete bullshit", adding that "Fox News was culpable. I voted for Trump, and I like Fox, but they did their own '[[catch and kill]]' on the story to protect him."<ref name="auto1">{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/03/11/the-making-of-the-fox-news-white-house |title=The Making of the Fox News White House |first=Jane |last=Mayer |date=March 4, 2019 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-date=December 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211045411/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/03/11/the-making-of-the-fox-news-white-house |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mediaite.com/online/former-head-of-foxnews-com-denies-trump-porn-star-story-was-ignored-easy-call-to-make/ |title=Former Head of FoxNews.Com Denies Trump-Porn Star Story Was Ignored: 'Easy Call to Make' |first=Aidan |last=McLaughlin |date=January 18, 2018 |website=Mediaite.com |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230125534/https://www.mediaite.com/online/former-head-of-foxnews-com-denies-trump-porn-star-story-was-ignored-easy-call-to-make/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2008 study found Fox News gave disproportionate attention to polls suggesting low approval for President [[Bill Clinton]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Groeling |first=Tim |date=December 1, 2008 |title=Who's the Fairest of them All? An Empirical Test for Partisan Bias on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=631–657 |doi=10.1111/j.1741-5705.2008.02668.x |issn=1741-5705}}</ref> A 2009 study found Fox News was less likely to pick up stories that reflected well on Democrats, and more likely to pick up stories that reflected well on Republicans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Baum |first1=Matthew A. |last2=Groeling |first2=Tim |year=2009 |title=Shot by the Messenger: Partisan Cues and Public Opinion regarding National Security and War |jstor=40213343 |journal=[[Political Behavior]] |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=157–186|doi=10.1007/s11109-008-9074-9 |s2cid=2429644 }}</ref> A 2010 study comparing Fox News Channel's ''Special Report With Brit Hume'' and NBC's ''[[NBC Nightly News|Nightly News]]'' coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan during 2005 concluded "Fox News was much more sympathetic to the administration than NBC", suggesting "if scholars continue to find evidence of a partisan or ideological bias at FNC ... they should consider Fox as alternative, rather than mainstream, media".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Aday|first=Sean|date=February 25, 2010|title=Chasing the Bad News: An Analysis of 2005 Iraq and Afghanistan War Coverage on NBC and Fox News Channel|journal=Journal of Communication|volume=60|issue=1|pages=144–164|doi=10.1111/j.1460-2466.2009.01472.x|issn=0021-9916}}</ref> Research finds that Fox News increases Republican vote shares and makes Republican politicians more partisan.<ref name="Martin-2017">{{Cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Gregory J. |last2=Ali |first2=Yurukoglu |year=2017 |title=Bias in Cable News: Persuasion and Polarization |journal=American Economic Review |volume=107 |issue=9 |pages=2565–2599 |doi=10.1257/aer.20160812 |s2cid=152704098 |issn=0002-8282 |url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w20798.pdf |doi-access=free |access-date=August 29, 2019 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806185534/https://www.nber.org/papers/w20798.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Clinton-2014">{{Cite journal |last1=Clinton |first1=Joshua D. |last2=Enamorado |first2=Ted |date=October 1, 2014 |title=The National News Media's Effect on Congress: How Fox News Affected Elites in Congress |journal=The Journal of Politics |volume=76 |issue=4 |pages=928–943 |doi=10.1017/S0022381614000425 |s2cid=31934930 |issn=0022-3816|citeseerx=10.1.1.720.6672 }}</ref><ref name="Schroeder-2015">{{cite journal|last1=Schroeder|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Stone|first2=Daniel F.|date=June 1, 2015|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047272715000523|title=Fox News and Political Knowledge|journal=Journal of Public Economics|volume=126|pages=52–63|doi=10.1016/j.jpubeco.2015.03.009|issn=0047-2727|access-date=February 23, 2022|archive-date=February 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225135158/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047272715000523|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2007 study, using the introduction of Fox News into local markets (1996–2000) as an instrumental variable, found that in the 2000 presidential election "Republicans gained 0.4 to 0.7 percentage points in the towns that broadcast Fox News", suggesting "Fox News convinced 3 to 28 percent of its viewers to vote Republican, depending on the audience measure".<ref name="DellaVigna-2007"/> These results were confirmed by a 2015 study.<ref name="Schroeder-2015"/> A 2014 study, using the same instrumental variable, found congressional "representatives become less supportive of President Clinton in districts where Fox News begins broadcasting than similar representatives in similar districts where Fox News was not broadcast."<ref name="Clinton-2014"/> Another 2014 paper found Fox News viewing increased Republican vote shares among voters who identified as Republican or independent.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hopkins |first=Daniel J. |date=March 11, 2014 |title=The Consequences of Broader Media Choice: Evidence from the Expansion of Fox News |journal=Quarterly Journal of Political Science |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=115–135 |doi=10.1561/100.00012099 |issn=1554-0626}}</ref> A 2017 study, using channel positions as an instrumental variable, found "Fox News increases Republican vote shares by 0.3 points among viewers induced into watching 2.5 additional minutes per week by variation in position."<ref name="Martin-2017"/> This study used a different metodhology for a later period and found an ever bigger effect and impact, leading [[Matthew Yglesias]] to write in the ''[[Political Communication (journal)|Political Communication]]'' academic journal that they "suggest that conventional wisdom may be greatly underestimating the significance of Fox as a factor in American politics."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Yglesias|first=Matthew|date=October 2, 2018|title=The Case for Fox News Studies|journal=Political Communication|volume=35|issue=4|pages=681–683|doi=10.1080/10584609.2018.1477532|s2cid=149869703|issn=1058-4609}}</ref> Fox News publicly denies it is biased,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/26/1098667750250.html |title=News Corp denies Fox News bias |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=October 26, 2004 |agency=Australian Associated Press |newspaper=The Age |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-date=January 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104151713/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/26/1098667750250.html |url-status=live }}</ref> with Murdoch and Ailes saying to have included Murdoch's statement that Fox has "given room to both sides, whereas only one side had it before".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/5b77af92-548c-11db-901f-0000779e2340.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/5b77af92-548c-11db-901f-0000779e2340.html |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |title=Interview transcript: Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=October 6, 2006 |newspaper=[[Financial Times]] |page=1 |access-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5b77af92-548c-11db-901f-0000779e2340.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5b77af92-548c-11db-901f-0000779e2340.html |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Interview transcript: Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=October 6, 2006 |website=Financial Times |page=2 |access-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref> In June 2009,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://video.foxnews.com/v/1007046245001/exclusive-jon-stewart-on-fox-news-sunday/ |title=Exclusive: Jon Stewart on 'Fox News Sunday' |date=June 19, 2011 |website=Fox News Video |access-date=October 20, 2013 |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129024034/https://video.foxnews.com/v/1007046245001/exclusive-jon-stewart-on-fox-news-sunday/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Fox News host [[Chris Wallace]] said: "I think we are the counter-weight [to NBC News] ... they have a liberal agenda, and we tell the other side of the story."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2011/06/chris-wallace-jon-stewart-fox |title=Did Chris Wallace Really Say Fox News Isn't Fair and Balanced? |first=David |last=Corn |date=June 20, 2011 |magazine=Mother Jones |access-date=October 20, 2013 |archive-date=April 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409151200/http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2011/06/chris-wallace-jon-stewart-fox |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://gothamist.com/2011/06/21/video_when_chris_wallace_admitted_f.php |title=Jon Stewart: Chris Wallace Admitted Fox News Was Unbalanced |first=Garth |last=Johnston |date=June 21, 2011 |website=Gothamist |access-date=October 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224183119/http://gothamist.com/2011/06/21/video_when_chris_wallace_admitted_f.php |archive-date=February 24, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2011/06/jon-stewart-dissects-chris-wallaces-fox-news-logic/39049/ |title=Jon Stewart Dissects Chris Wallace's Fox News Logic |first=Erik |last=Hayden |date=June 21, 2011 |website=[[The Atlantic Wire]] |access-date=October 20, 2013 |archive-date=August 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820150725/http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2011/06/jon-stewart-dissects-chris-wallaces-fox-news-logic/39049/ }}</ref> In 2004, [[Robert Greenwald]]'s documentary film ''Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism'' argued Fox News had a conservative bias and featured clips from Fox News and internal memos from editorial vice president [[John Moody (journalist)|John Moody]] directing Fox News staff on how to report certain subjects.<ref name="tilting">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41604-2004Jul10.html |title=Tilting at the Right, Leaning to the Left |last=Kurtz |first=Howard |author-link=Howard Kurtz |date=July 11, 2004 |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=D01 |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-date=June 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624110236/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41604-2004Jul10.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ChristiansFackler2015">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7vEvCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA33 |title=Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning |first1=Clifford G. |last1=Christians |first2=Mark |last2=Fackler |first3=Kathy |last3=Richardson |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-317-34652-4 |page=33 |access-date=January 27, 2016 |archive-date=February 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204030242/https://books.google.com/books?id=7vEvCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA33#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> A leaked memo from Fox News vice president [[Bill Sammon]] to news staff at the height of the [[health care reform in the United States]] debate has been cited as an example of the pro-[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] bias of Fox News. His memo asked the staff to "use the term 'government-run health insurance,' or, when brevity is a concern, 'government option,' whenever possible". The memo was sent shortly after Republican pollster [[Frank Luntz]] advised [[Sean Hannity]] on his Fox show: "If you call it a public option, the American people are split. If you call it the government option, the public is overwhelmingly against it."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-fox-news-memo-reveals-news-division-told-to-echo-gop-talking-point-2010-12 |title=Leaked Fox News Memo Reveals News Division Told To Echo GOP Talking Point |first=Glynnis |last=MacNicol |date=December 9, 2010 |website=Business Insider |access-date=September 30, 2014 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230100911/https://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-fox-news-memo-reveals-news-division-told-to-echo-gop-talking-point-2010-12 |url-status=live }}</ref> Surveys suggest Fox News is widely perceived to be ideological. A 2009 Pew survey found Fox News is viewed as the most ideological channel in America, with 47 percent of those surveyed said Fox News is "mostly conservative", 14 percent said "mostly liberal" and 24 percent said "neither". In comparison, [[MSNBC]] had 36 percent identify it as "mostly liberal", 11 percent as "mostly conservative" and 27 percent as "neither". [[CNN]] had 37 percent describe it as "mostly liberal", 11 percent as "mostly conservative" and 33 percent as "neither".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://people-press.org/report/559/ |title=Fox News Viewed as Most Ideological Network |date=October 29, 2009 |website=Pew Research Center |access-date=August 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106203155/http://people-press.org/report/559/ |archive-date=November 6, 2010 }}</ref> A 2004 [[Pew Research Center]] survey found FNC was cited (unprompted) by 69 percent of national journalists as a conservative news organization.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://people-press.org/report/214/bottom-line-pressures-now-hurting-coverage-say-journalists |title=Bottom-Line Pressures Now Hurting Coverage, Say Journalists: Overview |date=May 23, 2004 |work=Pew Research Center |access-date=September 30, 2014 |archive-date=March 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310053949/http://people-press.org/report/214/bottom-line-pressures-now-hurting-coverage-say-journalists |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[Rasmussen Reports|Rasmussen]] poll found 31 percent of Americans felt Fox News had a conservative bias, and 15 percent that it had a liberal bias. It found 36 percent believed Fox News delivers news with neither a conservative or liberal bias, compared with 37 percent who said [[NPR]] delivers news with no conservative or liberal bias and 32 percent who said the same of CNN.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/media/americans_see_liberal_media_bias_on_tv_news |title=Americans See Liberal Media Bias on TV News |date=July 13, 2007 |website=Rasmussen Reports |access-date=August 27, 2010 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806123116/https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/media/americans_see_liberal_media_bias_on_tv_news |url-status=live }}</ref> [[David Carr (journalist)|David Carr]], media critic for ''[[The New York Times]]'', praised the [[2012 United States presidential election]] results coverage on Fox News for the network's response to Republican adviser and Fox News contributor [[Karl Rove]] challenging its call that [[Barack Obama]] would win Ohio and the election. Fox's prediction was correct. Carr wrote: "Over many months, Fox lulled its conservative base with agitprop: that President Obama was a clear failure, that a majority of Americans saw [[Mitt Romney|[Mitt] Romney]] as a good alternative in hard times, and that polls showing otherwise were politically motivated and not to be believed. But on Tuesday night, the people in charge of Fox News were confronted with a stark choice after it became clear that Mr. Romney had fallen short: was Fox, first and foremost, a place for advocacy or a place for news? In this moment, at least, Fox chose news."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/business/media/fox-newss-election-coverage-followed-journalistic-instincts.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112094010/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/business/media/fox-newss-election-coverage-followed-journalistic-instincts.html |archive-date=November 12, 2012 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=For One Night at Fox, News Tops Agenda |last=Carr |first=David |date=November 11, 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref> A May 2017 study conducted by [[Harvard University]]'s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy examined coverage of Trump's [[First 100 days of Donald Trump's presidency|first 100 days]] in office by several major mainstream media outlets including Fox.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/19/trump-press-coverage-sets-new-standard-for-negativity-study.html |title=Trump Press Coverage 'Sets New Standard' for Negativity: Study |last1=Cox |first1=Jeff |date=May 19, 2017 |publisher=[[CNBC]] |access-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230114428/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/19/trump-press-coverage-sets-new-standard-for-negativity-study.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It found Trump received 80% negative coverage from the overall media, and received the least negative coverage on Fox – 52% negative and 48% positive.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/19/study-trump-press-coverage-new-standard-negativity/ |title=Harvard Agrees: Trump Press Coverage Sets 'New Standard for Negativity' |last1=Richardson |first1=Valerie |date=May 19, 2017 |newspaper=[[The Washington Times]] |access-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230050249/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/19/study-trump-press-coverage-new-standard-negativity/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On March 14, 2017, [[Andrew Napolitano]], a Fox News commentator, claimed on ''Fox & Friends'' that British intelligence agency [[GCHQ]] had wiretapped Trump on behalf of Barack Obama during the [[2016 United States presidential election]].<ref name="Grynbaum-2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/business/media/fox-andrew-napolitano-trump.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/business/media/fox-andrew-napolitano-trump.html |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=Fox's Andrew Napolitano Stirred the Pot for Trump's British Tempest |last=Grynbaum |first=Michael M. |date=March 17, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=March 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/03/16/andrew-napolitano-did-obama-spy-on-trump.html |title=Did Obama spy on Trump? |last=Napolitano |first=Andrew |date=March 16, 2017 |publisher=Fox News |access-date=March 21, 2017 |archive-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210184805/https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/andrew-napolitano-did-obama-spy-on-trump |url-status=live }}</ref> On March 16, 2017, White House spokesman [[Sean Spicer]] repeated the claim.<ref name="Grynbaum-2017"/> When Trump was questioned about the claim at a news conference, he said "All we did was quote a certain very talented legal mind who was the one responsible for saying that on television. I didn't make an opinion on it."<ref name="Baker-2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/world/europe/trump-britain-obama-wiretap-gchq.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/world/europe/trump-britain-obama-wiretap-gchq.html |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=Trump Offers No Apology for Claim on British Spying |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |last2=Erlanger |first2=Steven |date=March 17, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=March 21, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On March 17, 2017, [[Shepard Smith]], a Fox News anchor, admitted the network had no evidence that Trump was under surveillance. British officials said the White House was backing off the claim.<ref name="Baker-2017"/> Napolitano was later suspended by Fox News for making the claim.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-napolitano-fox-news-20170320-story.html |title=Fox News pulls Judge Napolitano over his Trump wiretap claims |last=Battaglio |first=Stephen |date=March 20, 2017 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=March 21, 2017 |issn=0458-3035 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230061245/https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-napolitano-fox-news-20170320-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In June 2018, Fox News executives instructed producers to head off inappropriate remarks made on the shows aired by the network by hosts and commentators.<ref name="Schwartz-2018">{{Cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/27/suzanne-scott-fox-panelists-680625 |title=New Fox chief cracks down on inflammatory statements |first=Jason |last=Schwartz |date=June 27, 2018 |website=Politico |access-date=June 28, 2018 |archive-date=December 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229234918/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/27/suzanne-scott-fox-panelists-680625 |url-status=live }}</ref> The instructions came after a number of Fox News hosts and guests made incendiary comments about [[Trump administration family separation policy|the Trump administration's policy of separating migrant children from their parents]].<ref name="Schwartz-2018"/> Fox News host [[Laura Ingraham]] had likened the child detention centers that the children were in to "summer camps". Guest [[Corey Lewandowski]] mocked the story of a 10-year-old child with [[Down syndrome]] being separated from her mother; the Fox News host did not address Lewandowski's statement.<ref name="Schwartz-2018"/> Guest [[Ann Coulter]] falsely claimed that the separated children were "child actors"; the Fox News host did not challenge her claim.<ref name="Schwartz-2018"/> In a segment on Trump's alleged use of racial dog whistles, one Fox News contributor told an African-American whom he was debating: "You're out of your cotton-picking mind."<ref name="Schwartz-2018"/> According to the 2016 book ''Asymmetric Politics'' by political scientists Matt Grossmann and David A. Hopkins, "Fox News tends to raise the profile of scandals and controversies involving Democrats that receive scant attention in other media, such as the [[Bill Ayers 2008 presidential election controversy|relationship between Barack Obama and William Ayers]] ... Hillary Clinton's role in the fatal 2012 attacks on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya; the [[ATF gunwalking scandal|gun-running scandal known as 'Fast and Furious']]; the business practices of federal loan guarantee recipient [[Solyndra]]; the past activism of Obama White House operative [[Van Jones]]; the 2004 attacks on John Kerry by the [[Swift Boat Veterans for Truth]]; the [[Jeremiah Wright controversy|controversial sermons of Obama's Chicago pastor Jeremiah Wright]]; the [[ACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy|filming of undercover videos of supposed wrongdoing by the liberal activist group ACORN]]; and the 'war on Christmas' supposedly waged every December by secular, multicultural liberals."<ref name="Grossman-2016b"/> In October 2018, Fox News ran laudatory coverage of a meeting between Trump-supporting rapper [[Kanye West]] and President Trump in the [[Oval Office]]. Fox News had previously run negative coverage of rappers and their involvement with Democratic politicians and causes, such as when Fox News ran headlines describing conscious hip-hop artist [[Common (rapper)|Common]] as "vile" and a "cop-killer rapper", and when Fox News ran negative coverage of Kanye West before he became a Trump supporter.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2018/10/12/fox-swooned-over-kanye-west-white-house-heres-how-it-covered-rappers-visiting-obama/ |title=Fox swooned over Kanye West at the White House. Here's how it covered rappers visiting Obama |first=Eli |last=Rosenberg |date=October 12, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=October 12, 2018 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112042306/https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2018/10/12/fox-swooned-over-kanye-west-white-house-heres-how-it-covered-rappers-visiting-obama/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On November 4, 2018, Trump's website, DonaldJTrump.com, announced in a press release that Fox News host Sean Hannity would make a "special guest appearance" with Trump at a midterm campaign rally the following night in [[Cape Girardeau, Missouri]].<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/04/media/sean-hannity-donald-trump-rally-fox-news/index.html |title='Special Guest' Sean Hannity to appear at Trump rally |first=Brian |last=Stelter |date=November 5, 2018 |publisher=CNN |access-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111152014/https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/04/media/sean-hannity-donald-trump-rally-fox-news/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The following morning, Hannity tweeted "To be clear, I will not be on stage campaigning with the President."<ref>{{cite tweet |first=Sean |last=Hannity |user=seanhannity |number=1059476042975535104 |date=November 6, 2018 |title=To be clear... |access-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106045357/https://twitter.com/seanhannity/status/1059476042975535104 |archive-date=November 6, 2018 }}</ref> Hannity appeared at the president's lectern on stage at the rally, immediately mocking the "fake news" at the back of the auditorium, Fox News reporters among them. Several Fox News employees expressed outrage at Hannity's actions, with one stating that "a new line was crossed".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/06/media/fox-news-sean-hannity-jeanine-pirro-trump-rally/index.html |title='It disturbs me to my core': Fox News staffers express outrage over Hannity's rally appearance |first=Oliver |last=Darcy |date=November 6, 2018 |publisher=CNN |access-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107230959/https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/06/media/fox-news-sean-hannity-jeanine-pirro-trump-rally/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Hannity later asserted that his action was not pre-planned, and Fox News stated it "does not condone any talent participating in campaign events".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-news-responds-hannity-at-trump-rally-we-do-not-condone-this-unfortunate-distraction/ |title=Fox News Responds to Hannity at Trump Rally: We Do 'Not Condone' This 'Unfortunate Distraction' |first=Aidan |last=McLaughlin |date=November 6, 2018 |website=Mediaite.com |access-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-date=January 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109181344/https://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-news-responds-hannity-at-trump-rally-we-do-not-condone-this-unfortunate-distraction/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Fox News host [[Jeanine Pirro]] also appeared on stage with Trump at the rally. The Trump press release was later removed from Trump's website.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.donaldjtrump.com/rallies/nov-girardeau-2018/? |title=Rallies |website=DonaldJTrump.com }}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Fox News released a poll of registered voters, jointly conducted by two polling organizations, on June 16, 2019. The poll found some unfavorable results for Trump, including a record high 50% thought the Trump campaign had coordinated with the Russian government, and 50% thought he should be impeached – 43% saying he should also be removed from office – while 48% said they did not favor impeachment.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fox-news-poll-voters-doubt-impeachment-will-happen |title=Fox News Poll: Voters doubt impeachment will happen |first=Dana |last=Blanton |date=June 14, 2019 |publisher=Fox News |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111161904/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fox-news-poll-voters-doubt-impeachment-will-happen |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/413536427/Fox-News-Poll-June-16 |title=Fox News Poll, June 16, 2019 |publisher=Fox News |via=Scribd |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230134154/https://www.scribd.com/document/413536427/Fox-News-Poll-June-16 |url-status=live }}</ref> The next morning on ''[[Fox & Friends First]]'', host [[Heather Childers]] twice misrepresented the poll results, stating "a new Fox News poll shows most voters don't want impeachment" and "at least half of U.S. voters do not think President Trump should be impeached," while the on-screen display of the actual poll question was also incorrect. Later that morning on ''[[America's Newsroom]]'', the on-screen display showed the correct poll question and results, but highlighted the 48% of respondents who opposed impeachment rather than the 50% who supported it (the latter being broken-out into two figures). As host [[Bill Hemmer]] drew guest [[Byron York]]'s attention to the 48% opposed figure, they did not discuss the 50% support figure, while the on-screen [[Lower third|chyron]] read: "Fox News Poll: 43% Support Trump's Impeachment and Removal, 48% Oppose."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-news-repeatedly-misreports-their-own-poll-showing-50-favor-trump-impeachment/ |title=WATCH: Fox News Lies About Their Own Poll Showing 50 Percent Want Impeachment |first=Tommy |last=Christopher |date=June 17, 2019 |website=Mediaite.com |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230130027/https://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-news-repeatedly-misreports-their-own-poll-showing-50-favor-trump-impeachment/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Later that day, Trump tweeted: "@FoxNews Polls are always bad for me...Something weird going on at Fox."<ref>{{cite tweet |user=realDonaldTrump |number=1140768516288782336 |title=@FoxNews Polls are always bad for me. They were against Crooked Hillary also. Something weird going on at Fox. |first=Donald J. |last=Trump |date=June 17, 2019 |access-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref> In April 2017, it became known that former Obama administration national security advisor [[Susan Rice]] sought the [[Unmasking by U.S. intelligence agencies|unmasking]] of Trump associates who were unidentified in intelligence reports, notably Trump's incoming national security advisor [[Michael Flynn]], during the [[Presidential transition of Donald Trump|presidential transition]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2017-04-03/top-obama-adviser-sought-names-of-trump-associates-in-intel|title=Susan Rice Sought Names of Trump Associates in Intel|date=April 3, 2017|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|access-date=October 14, 2020|archive-date=December 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212173510/https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2017-04-03/top-obama-adviser-sought-names-of-trump-associates-in-intel|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2020, acting [[Director of National Intelligence]] [[Richard Grenell]], a Trump loyalist, declassified a list of Obama administration officials who had also requested unmasking of Trump associates, which was subsequently publicly released by Republican senators.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/us/politics/unmasking-flynn.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513235016/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/us/politics/unmasking-flynn.html |archive-date=May 13, 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Republicans Release Names of Obama-Era Officials in 'Unmaskings' That Revealed Flynn|first1=Julian E.|last1=Barnes|first2=Charlie|last2=Savage|date=May 13, 2020|work=The New York Times}}</ref> That month, attorney general [[Bill Barr]] appointed federal prosecutor [[John Bash]] to examine the unmaskings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/27/politics/william-barr-unmasking-investigation/index.html|title=Attorney general launches new 'unmasking' investigation around 2016 election|author=David Shortell|date=May 28, 2020|publisher=CNN|access-date=October 14, 2020|archive-date=December 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230115842/https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/27/politics/william-barr-unmasking-investigation/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Fox News primetime hosts declared the unmaskings a "domestic spying operation" for which the Obama administration was "exposed" in the "biggest abuse of power" in American history.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |date=October 14, 2020 |title=Fox News portrayed it as one of the biggest scandals in American history. Then it fell apart |language=en-US |work=[[CNN]] |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/14/media/fox-news-unmasking-obamagate/index.html |access-date=April 19, 2023 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230120345/https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/14/media/fox-news-unmasking-obamagate/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Bash inquiry closed months later with no findings of substantive wrongdoing.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/barr-unmasking-review-no-charges/2020/10/13/0f63fd2e-0d67-11eb-8074-0e943a91bf08_story.html|title='Unmasking' probe commissioned by Barr concludes without charges or any public report|first1=Matt|last1=Zapotosky|first2=Shane|last2=Harris|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=October 14, 2020|archive-date=February 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210012148/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/barr-unmasking-review-no-charges/2020/10/13/0f63fd2e-0d67-11eb-8074-0e943a91bf08_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, certain Fox personalities have not had as much of a favorable reception from Trump: news anchors [[Shepard Smith]] (who retired from Fox in 2019) and [[Chris Wallace]] have been criticized by Trump for allegedly being adversarial,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Badkar |first1=Mamta |title=Veteran Fox anchor and Trump critic Shepard Smith steps down |url=https://www.ft.com/content/76f99406-ec63-11e9-85f4-d00e5018f061 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/76f99406-ec63-11e9-85f4-d00e5018f061 |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |access-date=November 18, 2020 |work=[[Financial Times]] |date=October 11, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rupar |first1=Aaron |title=Trump's adversarial relationship with presidential debate moderator Chris Wallace, explained |url=https://www.vox.com/2020/9/29/21455848/trump-chris-wallace-fox-news-2020-presidential-debate |access-date=November 18, 2020 |work=[[Vox (website)|Vox]] |date=September 29, 2020 |archive-date=November 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116172858/https://www.vox.com/2020/9/29/21455848/trump-chris-wallace-fox-news-2020-presidential-debate |url-status=live }}</ref> alongside Fox analyst [[Andrew Napolitano]], who said Trump's actions in the [[Trump–Ukraine scandal]] were "both criminal and impeachable behavior".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pengelly |first1=Martin |title=William Barr told Murdoch to 'muzzle' Fox News Trump critic, new book says |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/22/william-barr-rupert-murdoch-muzzle-andrew-napolitano-fox-news-trump-critic-book |access-date=November 18, 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=August 22, 2020 |archive-date=December 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217224843/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/22/william-barr-rupert-murdoch-muzzle-andrew-napolitano-fox-news-trump-critic-book |url-status=live }}</ref> Trump was also critical of the network hiring former [[Democratic National Committee|DNC]] chair [[Donna Brazile]], in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Collins |first1=Terry |title=Trump Rips Into Fox News in Late-Night Twitter Tirade |url=https://fortune.com/2019/07/08/trump-fox-news-brazile-twitter/ |access-date=November 18, 2020 |work=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] |date=July 8, 2019 |archive-date=July 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710154550/https://fortune.com/2019/07/08/trump-fox-news-brazile-twitter/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The relationship between Trump and Fox News, as well as other [[Rupert Murdoch]]-controlled outlets, soured following the [[2020 United States presidential election]], as Trump refused to concede that [[Joe Biden]] had been elected [[President-elect of the United States|President-elect]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=McCarthy |first1=Tom |title=Rupert Murdoch-owned US outlets turn on Trump, urging him to act with 'grace' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/07/rupert-murdoch-owned-us-outlets-turn-on-trump-urging-him-to-concede-with-grace |access-date=November 17, 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=November 7, 2020 |archive-date=December 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221040304/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/07/rupert-murdoch-owned-us-outlets-turn-on-trump-urging-him-to-concede-with-grace |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Maass |first1=Peter |title=As Trump Is Defeated, the Murdochs Try to Dodge Backlash for Fox News |url=https://theintercept.com/2020/11/06/fox-news-election-trump-murdoch/ |access-date=November 17, 2020 |work=[[The Intercept]] |date=November 9, 2020 |archive-date=December 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220233711/https://theintercept.com/2020/11/06/fox-news-election-trump-murdoch/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This negative tonal shift led to increased viewership of [[Newsmax]] and [[One America News]] among Trump and his supporters due to their increased antipathy towards Fox;<ref>{{cite news |title=As the Trump show is cancelled, what next for Fox News? |url=https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/11/14/as-the-trump-show-is-cancelled-what-next-for-fox-news |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=November 14, 2020 |access-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107192429/https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/11/14/as-the-trump-show-is-cancelled-what-next-for-fox-news |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Folkenflick |first1=David |title=Analysis: Is Trump's Next Foe Fox News? |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/11/14/932390859/analysis-is-trumps-next-foe-fox-news |access-date=November 17, 2020 |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=November 14, 2020 |archive-date=December 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228203237/https://www.npr.org/2020/11/14/932390859/analysis-is-trumps-next-foe-fox-news |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Jason |title=OANN: what is the alternative far-right media outlet Trump is pushing? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/16/oann-what-is-tv-network-trump-is-pushing |access-date=November 17, 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=November 16, 2020 |archive-date=December 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228213837/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/16/oann-what-is-tv-network-trump-is-pushing |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Klein |first1=Charlotte |title=Newsmax Is Going All-in On Trump to Try and "Overtake Fox News" |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/11/newsmax-pro-trump-fox-news-competition |access-date=November 17, 2020 |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=November 16, 2020 |archive-date=December 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203005249/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/11/newsmax-pro-trump-fox-news-competition |url-status=live }}</ref> and as a result, Fox released promotional videos of their opinion hosts disputing the election results, promoting a Trump-affiliated [[conspiracy theory]] about [[voter fraud]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pengelly |first1=Martin |title='Can we have America back?' Fox News video echoes Trump election claims |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/nov/14/fox-news-criticized-for-echoing-baseless-trump-claims-about-election |access-date=November 18, 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=November 14, 2020 |archive-date=December 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228213843/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/nov/14/fox-news-criticized-for-echoing-baseless-trump-claims-about-election |url-status=live }}</ref> By one measure, Newsmax saw a 497% spike in viewership, while Fox News saw a 38% decline.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2020/12/27/fox-news-viewers-switch-to-newsmax/|title=Why these Fox News loyalists have changed the channel to Newsmax|first=Jeremy|last=Barr|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=January 3, 2021|archive-date=February 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203164407/https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2020/12/27/fox-news-viewers-switch-to-newsmax/|url-status=live}}</ref> Writing for the [[Poynter Institute for Media Studies]] in February 2021, senior media writer Tom Jones argued that the primary distinction between Fox News and MSNBC is not right bias vs. left bias, but rather that much of the content on Fox News, especially during its primetime programs, "is not based in truth."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Tom |title=No, Fox News and MSNBC are not the same thing |url=https://www.poynter.org/newsletters/2021/no-fox-news-and-msnbc-are-not-the-same-thing/ |publisher=Poynter Institute for Media Studies |date=February 1, 2021 |access-date=February 27, 2021 |archive-date=February 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201123137/https://www.poynter.org/newsletters/2021/no-fox-news-and-msnbc-are-not-the-same-thing/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''[[Tampa Bay Times]]'' reported in August 2021 that it had reviewed four months of emails indicating Fox News producers had coordinated with aides of Florida governor [[Ron DeSantis]] to promote his political prospects by inviting him for frequent network appearances, exchanging talking points and, in one case, helping him to stage an exclusive news event.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/08/13/inside-fox-news-desantis-is-the-future-of-the-party-and-hes-taking-advantage/|title=Inside Fox News, DeSantis is 'the future of the party.' And he's taking advantage.|first=Tampa Publishing|last=Company|website=Tampa Bay Times|access-date=August 13, 2021|archive-date=August 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813164210/https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/08/13/inside-fox-news-desantis-is-the-future-of-the-party-and-hes-taking-advantage/|url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2024, Alan Rosenblatt of [[Johns Hopkins University]] said that Fox News "is an entertainment company that has a news division, not a news company", adding that it "not only does not provide that distinction, it goes out of its way to make it difficult to see the difference. They make their opinion programs look like news programs, and they incorporate enough opinion content on their news programs to further that deception."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scott |first=Francesca |date=February 2, 2024 |title=Must be exhausting: How Taylor Swift became a target for misinformation |url=https://www.logicallyfacts.com/en/analysis/must-be-exhausting-how-taylor-swift-became-a-target-for-misinformation |access-date=February 4, 2024 |website=[[Logically (company)|Logically]] |language=en |archive-date=February 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202153112/https://www.logicallyfacts.com/en/analysis/must-be-exhausting-how-taylor-swift-became-a-target-for-misinformation |url-status=live }}</ref> Fox News has published headlines accusing the [[English Wikipedia]] of having a left-wing and [[socialist]] bias.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Stephen |date=June 16, 2022 |title=Inside Wikipedia's Historic, Fiercely Contested "Election" |url=https://slate.com/technology/2022/06/wikipedia-administrator-election-tamzin.html |access-date=August 26, 2022 |website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |language=en |quote=Publications like Fox News and OpIndia have a history of running headlines decrying what they view as Wikipedia's leftist, socialist bias. |archive-date=August 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824123521/https://slate.com/technology/2022/06/wikipedia-administrator-election-tamzin.html |url-status=live }}</ref> === Coverage of Russia investigation === {{Further|Mueller special counsel investigation}} On October 30, 2017, when special counsel [[Robert Mueller]] indicted [[Paul Manafort]] and [[Rick Gates (political consultant)|Rick Gates]], and revealed [[George Papadopoulos]] had pleaded guilty (all of whom were involved in the Trump 2016 campaign), this was the focus of most media's coverage, except Fox News'.<ref name="Rosenberg-2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/31/how-conservative-media-reacted-to-the-mueller-indictments/ |title='This is a nothing burger': How conservative media reacted to the Mueller indictments |last=Rosenberg |first=Eli |date=October 31, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=October 31, 2017 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=November 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102134139/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/31/how-conservative-media-reacted-to-the-mueller-indictments/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Hosts and guests on Fox News called for Mueller to be fired.<ref name="Rosenberg-2017"/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2017/10/30/the-fox-news-cum-murdoch-effect-mueller-must-resign-or-be-fired/ |title=Opinion; The Fox News-Murdoch effect: Mueller must resign! Or be fired! |last=Wemple |first=Erik |date=October 30, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030001442/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2017/10/30/the-fox-news-cum-murdoch-effect-mueller-must-resign-or-be-fired/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson focused their shows on unsubstantiated allegations that Clinton sold uranium to Russia in exchange for donations to the Clinton Foundation and on the Clinton campaign's role in funding the [[Steele dossier]].<ref name="Rosenberg-2017"/><ref name="Kludt-2017">{{Cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/10/30/media/fox-news-paul-manafort/index.html |title=How Fox News is covering the toughest day of the Trump presidency |last=Kludt |first=Tom |date=October 30, 2017 |work=CNN Money |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112021409/https://money.cnn.com/2017/10/30/media/fox-news-paul-manafort/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Hannity asserted: "The very thing they are accusing President Trump of doing, they did it themselves."<ref name="Rosenberg-2017"/> During the segment, Hannity mistakenly referred to Clinton as President Clinton.<ref name="Rosenberg-2017"/><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://uk.businessinsider.com/sean-hannity-corey-lewandowski-trump-hillary-clinton-administration-2017-10 |title=Trump allies can't stop accidentally referring to Hillary Clinton's nonexistent administration |first=Maxwell |last=Tani |date=October 31, 2017 |work=Business Insider |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-date=January 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104164203/http://uk.businessinsider.com/sean-hannity-corey-lewandowski-trump-hillary-clinton-administration-2017-10 |url-status=live }}</ref> Fox News dedicated extensive coverage to the uranium story, which Democrats said was an attempt to distract from Mueller's intensifying investigation.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://uk.businessinsider.com/sean-hannity-twitter-robert-mueller-fox-news-2017-10 |title=Fox News host Sean Hannity has Twitter meltdown after report of Robert Mueller's first charges in the Russia probe |first=David |last=Choi |date=October 28, 2017 |work=Business Insider |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806195027/https://www.businessinsider.com/sean-hannity-twitter-robert-mueller-fox-news-2017-10?r=UK |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/as-mueller-pushes-ahead-trump-distracts |title=As Mueller Pushes Ahead, Trump Distracts |last=Lizza |first=Ryan |date=October 28, 2017 |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=October 31, 2017 |issn=0028-792X |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230071804/https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/as-mueller-pushes-ahead-trump-distracts |url-status=live }}</ref> CNN described the coverage as "a tour de force in deflection and dismissal".<ref name="Kludt-2017"/> On October 31, CNN reported Fox News employees were dissatisfied with their outlet's coverage of the Russia investigation, with employees calling it an "embarrassment", "laughable", and saying it "does the viewer a huge disservice and further divides the country" and that it is "another blow to journalists at Fox who come in every day wanting to cover the news in a fair and objective way".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://amp.cnn.com/money/2017/10/31/media/fox-news-employees-russia-mueller-coverage/index.html |title='I want to quit': Fox News employees say their network's Russia coverage was 'an embarrassment' |first=Oliver |last=Darcy |date=October 31, 2017 |work=CNN Money |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030165652/https://money.cnn.com/2017/10/31/media/fox-news-employees-russia-mueller-coverage/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://uk.businessinsider.com/fox-news-employees-russia-mueller-coverage-2017-10 |title='I'm watching now and screaming': Fox News employees anonymously trash the network's Russia coverage |first=Maxwell |last=Tani |date=October 31, 2017 |work=Business Insider |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111031038/https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-employees-russia-mueller-coverage-2017-10?r=UK |url-status=live }}</ref> When the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into [[Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election]] intensified in October 2017, the focus of Fox News coverage turned "what they see as the scandal and wrongdoing of President Trump's political opponents. In reports like these, Bill and Hillary Clinton are prominent and recurring characters because they are considered the real conspirators working with the Russians to undermine American democracy."<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/us/politics/conservative-media-trump-clintons.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/us/politics/conservative-media-trump-clintons.html |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=Alternative Narrative Emerges in Conservative Media as Russia Inquiry Widens |last=Peters |first=Jeremy W. |date=November 3, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=November 4, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Paul Waldman of ''The Washington Post'' described the coverage as "No puppet. You're the puppet", saying it was a "careful, coordinated, and comprehensive strategy" to distract from Mueller's investigation.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/10/27/the-gop-strategy-on-the-russia-scandal-no-puppet-youre-the-puppet/ |title=Opinion; The GOP strategy on the Russia scandal: 'No puppet. You're the puppet.' |first=Paul |last=Waldman |date=October 27, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-date=October 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021010632/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/10/27/the-gop-strategy-on-the-russia-scandal-no-puppet-youre-the-puppet/ |url-status=live }}</ref> German Lopes of ''[[Vox (website)|Vox]]'' said Fox News' coverage has reached "levels of self-parody" as it dedicated coverage to low-key stories, such as a controversial ''Newsweek'' op-ed and hamburger emojis, while other networks had wall-to-wall coverage of Mueller's indictments.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/30/16570198/trump-manafort-indictment-fox-news |title=Trump's former campaign head was indicted and Fox News talked about cheeseburger emojis |first=German |last=Lopez |date=October 30, 2017 |work=Vox |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225185609/https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/30/16570198/trump-manafort-indictment-fox-news |url-status=live }}</ref> A ''[[FiveThirtyEight]]'' analysis of Russia-related media coverage in cable news found most mentions of Russia on Fox News were spoken in close proximity to "uranium" and "dossier".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/all-the-cable-news-networks-are-covering-the-russia-story-just-not-the-same-one/ |title=All The Cable News Networks Are Covering The 'Russia Story'—Just Not The Same One |last=Mehta |first=Dhrumil |date=November 6, 2017 |work=FiveThirtyEight |access-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230104912/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/all-the-cable-news-networks-are-covering-the-russia-story-just-not-the-same-one/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On November 1, 2017, ''Vox'' analyzed the transcripts of Fox News, CNN and MSNBC, and found Fox News "was unable to talk about the Mueller investigation without bringing up Hillary Clinton", "talked significantly less about George Papadopoulos—the Trump campaign adviser whose plea deal with Mueller provides the most explicit evidence thus far that the campaign knew of the Russian government's efforts to help Trump—than its competitors", and "repeatedly called Mueller's credibility into question".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.vox.com/2017/10/31/16571350/fox-news-mueller-credibility |title=A week of Fox News transcripts shows how they began questioning Mueller's credibility |first=Alvin |last=Chang |date=October 31, 2017 |work=Vox |access-date=November 1, 2017 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225185613/https://www.vox.com/2017/10/31/16571350/fox-news-mueller-credibility |url-status=live }}</ref> In December 2017, Fox News escalated its attacks on the Mueller investigation, with hosts and guest commentators suggesting the investigation amounted to a [[coup]].<ref name="Vernon-2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/fox-news-meuller-trump.php |title=The media today: Fox News's intensifying anti-Mueller rhetoric raises concerns |first=Pete |last=Vernon |date=December 18, 2017 |work=[[Columbia Journalism Review]] |access-date=December 18, 2017 |archive-date=December 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229225926/https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/fox-news-meuller-trump.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Schmidt-2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/12/18/a-coup-in-america-fox-news-escalates-anti-mueller-rhetoric/ |title=A 'coup in America?' Fox News escalates anti-Mueller rhetoric |last=Schmidt |first=Samantha |date=December 18, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=December 18, 2017 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129232846/https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/12/18/a-coup-in-america-fox-news-escalates-anti-mueller-rhetoric/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/365331-fox-news-faces-backlash-saying-the-us-may-be-facing-a-coup-with-mueller/ |title=Fox News host called 'irresponsible' after suggesting US facing a 'coup' from Mueller |last=Beavers |first=Olivia |date=December 17, 2017 |newspaper=The Hill |access-date=December 18, 2017 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230040332/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/365331-fox-news-faces-backlash-saying-the-us-may-be-facing-a-coup-with-mueller |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/12/jesse-watters-says-we-may-have-a-coup-on-our-hands.html |title=Jesse Watters Says We May 'Have a Coup on Our Hands in America' |last=Hart |first=Benjamin |date=December 17, 2017 |work=[[Daily Intelligencer (blog)|Daily Intelligencer]] |access-date=December 18, 2017 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109042537/http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/12/jesse-watters-says-we-may-have-a-coup-on-our-hands.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/12/18/trump-gets-conflicting-advice-about-firing-mueller-from-sean-hannity-and-fox-friends/ |title=Analysis: Trump gets conflicting advice about firing Mueller from Sean Hannity and ''Fox & Friends'' |last=Borchers |first=Callum |date=December 18, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=December 18, 2017 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230082157/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/12/18/trump-gets-conflicting-advice-about-firing-mueller-from-sean-hannity-and-fox-friends/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Guest co-host Kevin Jackson referred to a right-wing conspiracy theory claiming Strzok's messages are evidence of a plot by FBI agents to assassinate Trump, a claim which the other Fox co-hosts quickly said is not supported by any credible evidence.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/365639-fox-news-guest-floats-fbi-assassination-plot-against-trump/ |title=Fox guest floats possibility of FBI assassination plot against Trump |last=Bowden |first=John |date=December 19, 2017 |newspaper=The Hill |access-date=December 19, 2017 |archive-date=December 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214053249/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/365639-fox-news-guest-floats-fbi-assassination-plot-against-trump |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/12/20/fox-news-contributor-channeling-alex-jones-suggests-fbi-plot-to-assassinate-trump/ |title=Fox News contributor, channeling Alex Jones, suggests FBI plot to assassinate Trump |first=Kyle |last=Swenson |date=December 20, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230081536/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/12/20/fox-news-contributor-channeling-alex-jones-suggests-fbi-plot-to-assassinate-trump/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Fox News host Jeanine Pirro called the Mueller investigation team a "criminal cabal" and said the team ought to be arrested.<ref name="Vernon-2017"/> Other Fox News figures referred to the investigation as "corrupt", "crooked", and "illegitimate", and likened the FBI to the KGB, the Soviet-era spy organization that routinely tortured and summarily executed people.<ref name="Schmidt-2017"/> Political scientists and scholars of coups described the Fox News rhetoric as scary and dangerous.<ref name="Schmidt-2017"/> Experts on coups rejected that the Mueller investigation amounted to a coup; rather, the Fox News rhetoric was dangerous to democracy and mirrored the kind of rhetoric that occurs before [[purge]]s.<ref name="Schmidt-2017"/> A number of observers argued the Fox News rhetoric was intended to discredit the Mueller investigation and sway President Donald Trump to fire Mueller.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/146325/trump-sabotaging-russia-investigationwith-fox-news-help |title=Trump Is Sabotaging the Russia Investigation—With Fox News' Help |first=Jeet |last=Heer |date=December 18, 2017 |magazine=[[The New Republic]] |access-date=December 18, 2017 |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205005201/https://newrepublic.com/article/146325/trump-sabotaging-russia-investigationwith-fox-news-help |url-status=live }}</ref> In August 2018, Fox News was criticized for giving more prominent coverage of a murder committed by an undocumented immigrant than the convictions of Donald Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and his long-term personal attorney, [[Michael Cohen (lawyer)|Michael Cohen]].<ref name="Relman-2018">{{Cite news |url=http://uk.businessinsider.com/fox-news-slammed-for-covering-mollie-tibbetts-over-manafort-cohen-convictions-2018-8 |title=Fox News slammed for covering the killing of a college student more prominently than the convictions of 2 top Trump aides |first=Eliza |last=Relman |date=August 21, 2018 |work=Business Insider |access-date=September 20, 2018 |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111172521/http://uk.businessinsider.com/fox-news-slammed-for-covering-mollie-tibbetts-over-manafort-cohen-convictions-2018-8 |url-status=live }}</ref> At the same time, most other national mainstream media gave wall-to-wall coverage of the convictions.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thewrap.com/fox-news-slammed-over-thin-cohen-manafort-coverage/ |title=Fox News Slammed for Covering Tooth Fairy Over Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen Convictions |first=Jon |last=Levine |date=August 22, 2018 |work=TheWrap |access-date=September 20, 2018 |archive-date=January 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109202941/https://www.thewrap.com/fox-news-slammed-over-thin-cohen-manafort-coverage/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Fox News hosts Dana Perrino and Jason Chaffetz argued that voters care far more about the murder than the convictions of the President's former top aides, and hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity downplayed the convictions.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/08/21/tibbetts-murder-resonates-not-manafort-cohen-chaffetz-says/1059394002/ |title=Fox News host says Manafort and Cohen crimes can't sway votes like Tibbetts murder |first=William |last=Cummings |date=August 22, 2018 |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=September 20, 2021 |archive-date=January 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110082159/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/08/21/tibbetts-murder-resonates-not-manafort-cohen-chaffetz-says/1059394002/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Relman-2018"/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-hosts-wave-off-cohen-plea-deal-as-nothing-that-matters |title=Fox News Hosts Wave Off Cohen Plea as 'Nothing That Matters' |last=Tani |first=Maxwell |date=August 22, 2018 |work=The Daily Beast |access-date=September 20, 2018 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109041444/https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-hosts-wave-off-cohen-plea-deal-as-nothing-that-matters |url-status=live }}</ref> === False claims about other media === ==== CNN's Jake Tapper ==== In November 2017, following the [[2017 New York City truck attack]] wherein a terrorist shouted "Allahu Akbar", Fox News distorted a statement by [[Jake Tapper]] to make it appear as if he had said "[[Allahu Akbar]]" can be used under the most "beautiful circumstances". Fox News omitted that Tapper had said the use of "Allahu Akbar" in the terrorist attack was not one of these beautiful circumstances. A headline on FoxNews.com was preceded by a tag reading "OUTRAGEOUS". The Fox News Twitter account distorted the statement even more, saying "Jake Tapper Says 'Allahu Akbar' Is 'Beautiful' Right After NYC Terror Attack" in a tweet that was later deleted. Tapper chastised Fox News for choosing to "deliberately lie" and said "there was a time when one could tell the difference between Fox and the nutjobs at ''[[Infowars]]''. It's getting tougher and tougher. Lies are lies."<ref name="Abadi-2017">{{Cite news |last=Abadi |first=Mark |date=November 2, 2017 |title=Jake Tapper slams Fox News for misrepresenting comments about New York City terror attack |work=[[Business Insider]] |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/jake-tapper-fox-news-lying-allahu-akbar-beautiful-2017-11 |access-date=November 2, 2017 |archive-date=November 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102042735/http://www.businessinsider.com/jake-tapper-fox-news-lying-allahu-akbar-beautiful-2017-11 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2009, Tapper had come to the defense of Fox News while he was a White House correspondent for ABC News, after the [[Obama administration]] claimed that the network was not a legitimate news organization.<ref name="Tornoe-2017">{{Cite news |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/television/cnn-jake-tapper-allahu-akbar-fox-news-nyc-attack-sean-hannity-20171102.html |title=Jake Tapper feuds with Fox News, Sean Hannity over 'Allahu Akbar' comments |first=Rob |last=Tornoe |date=November 2, 2017 |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |access-date=November 2, 2017 |archive-date=November 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102214409/http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/television/cnn-jake-tapper-allahu-akbar-fox-news-nyc-attack-sean-hannity-20171102.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Fox News guest host [[Jason Chaffetz]] apologized to Tapper for misrepresenting his statement.<ref name="Balluck-2017">{{Cite news |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/358382-tapper-hits-fox-hannity-over-allahu-akbar-comments-after-ny-terror-attack/ |title=Tapper hits Fox, Hannity over 'Allahu Akbar' comments after NY terror attack |last=Balluck |first=Kyle |date=November 2, 2017 |newspaper=The Hill |access-date=November 2, 2017 |archive-date=November 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102162728/http://thehill.com/homenews/media/358382-tapper-hits-fox-hannity-over-allahu-akbar-comments-after-ny-terror-attack |url-status=live }}</ref> After Fox News had deleted the tweet, Sean Hannity repeated the misrepresentation and called Tapper "liberal fake news CNN's fake Jake Tapper" and mocked his ratings.<ref name="Tornoe-2017"/><ref name="Balluck-2017"/> ==== ''The New York Times'' ==== In July 2017, a report by ''Fox & Friends'' falsely said ''The New York Times'' had disclosed intelligence in one of its stories and that this intelligence disclosure helped [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]], the leader of the [[Islamic State]], to evade capture.<ref name="Gordon-2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/23/us/politics/trump-tweet-new-york-times-national-security.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/23/us/politics/trump-tweet-new-york-times-national-security.html |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=How Trump Got It Wrong in Saying The Times 'Foiled' Killing of ISIS Leader |last=Gordon |first=Michael R. |date=July 23, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=July 24, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jul/24/new-york-times-fox-news-apology |title=NY Times requests Fox News apology for 'malicious and inaccurate segment' |agency=Associated Press |date=July 24, 2017 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=July 24, 2017 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109033220/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jul/24/new-york-times-fox-news-apology |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/07/24/media/new-york-times-fox-news-apology/index.html |title=Why The New York Times wants an apology from Fox News |last=Disis |first=Jill |date=July 24, 2017 |website=CNN Money |access-date=July 24, 2017 |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129075534/https://money.cnn.com/2017/07/24/media/new-york-times-fox-news-apology/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The report cited an inaccurate assertion by Gen. [[Raymond A. Thomas|Tony Thomas]], the head of the [[United States Special Operations Command]], that a major newspaper had disclosed the intelligence.<ref name="Gordon-2017"/><ref name="Bromwich-2017a">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/24/business/media/fox-news-apology.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/24/business/media/fox-news-apology.html |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=New York Times Asks Fox for Apology After 'Inaccurate Segment' |last=Bromwich |first=Jonah Engel |date=July 24, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=July 24, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Fox News said it was ''The New York Times'', repeatedly running the chyron "NYT Foils U.S. Attempt To Take Out Al-Bahgdadi".<ref name="Bromwich-2017a"/> [[Pete Hegseth]], one of the show's hosts, criticized the "failing ''New York Times''".<ref name="Bromwich-2017a"/> President Donald Trump tweeted about the ''Fox & Friends'' report shortly after it first aired, saying "The Failing ''New York Times'' foiled U.S. attempt to kill the single most wanted terrorist, Al-Baghdadi. Their sick agenda over National Security."<ref name="Gordon-2017"/> Fox News later updated the story, but without apologizing to ''The New York Times'' or responding directly to the inaccuracies.<ref name="Bromwich-2017a"/> In a ''Washington Post'' column, [[Erik Wemple]] said Chris Wallace had covered ''The New York Times'' story himself on ''Fox News Sunday'', adding: "Here's another case of the differing standards between Fox News's opinion operation", which has given "a state-run vibe on all matters related to Trump", compared to Fox News's news operation, which has provided "mostly sane coverage".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2017/07/24/fox-friends-issues-update-on-new-york-times-isis-flap-no-apology/ |title=''Fox & Friends'' issues 'update' on New York Times-ISIS flap. No apology. |last1=Wemple |first1=Erik |date=July 24, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=July 24, 2017 |archive-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019082318/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2017/07/24/fox-friends-issues-update-on-new-york-times-isis-flap-no-apology/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ===Climate change=== {{Further|Climate change denial|Media coverage of climate change}} Fox News has often been described as a major platform for [[climate change denial]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/climate-challenged-society-9780199660117 |title=Climate-Challenged Society |last1=Dryzek |first1=John S. |last2=Norgaard |first2=Richard B. |last3=Schlosberg |first3=David |date=October 24, 2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19966-011-7 |location=Oxford, New York |page=31 |access-date=May 25, 2019 |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111175146/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/climate-challenged-society-9780199660117?cc=us&lang=en& |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Climate Feedback-2018"/><ref name="Mann-2016">{{Cite book |url=https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-madhouse-effect/9780231177863 |title=The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial Is Threatening Our Planet, Destroying Our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy |last1=Mann |first1=Michael E. |last2=Toles |first2=Tom |date=2016 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-23154-181-7 |access-date=May 25, 2019 |archive-date=November 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127220655/http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-madhouse-effect/9780231177863 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Powell-2011">{{Cite book |url=https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-inquisition-of-climate-science/9780231157193 |title=The Inquisition of Climate Science |last=Powell |first=James Lawrence |author-link=James L. Powell |date=2011 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-23152-784-2 |page=177 |access-date=May 25, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230001228/https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-inquisition-of-climate-science/9780231157193 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the [[fact-checking]] website [[Climate Feedback]], Fox News is part of "a network of unreliable outlets for climate news."<ref name="Climate Feedback-2018">{{Cite web |url=https://climatefeedback.org/false-claims-coming-ice-age-ecosystem-unreliable-news-sites-blogs-social-media-accounts/ |title=False claims of a coming ice age spread through ecosystem of unreliable news sites, blogs, and social media accounts |date=November 21, 2018 |website=Climate Feedback |access-date=December 22, 2018 |archive-date=January 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108152253/https://climatefeedback.org/false-claims-coming-ice-age-ecosystem-unreliable-news-sites-blogs-social-media-accounts/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2011 study by Lauren Feldman and [[Anthony Leiserowitz]] found Fox News "takes a more dismissive tone toward climate change than CNN and MSNBC".<ref name="Feldman-2012">{{cite journal|last1=Feldman|first1=Lauren|last2=Leiserowitz|first2=Anthony|last3=Maibach|first3=Edward W.|last4=Roser-Renouf|first4=Connie|date=January 1, 2012|url=http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/afc0/8168de6abb77c29c4e997f7f83c828797388.pdf|title=Climate on Cable|journal=The International Journal of Press/Politics|volume=17|issue=1|pages=3–31|doi=10.1177/1940161211425410|s2cid=53482752|issn=1940-1612|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190303050627/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/afc0/8168de6abb77c29c4e997f7f83c828797388.pdf|archive-date=March 3, 2019|access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref> A 2008 study found Fox News emphasized the scientific uncertainty of climate change more than CNN, was less likely to say climate change was real, and more likely to interview climate change skeptics.<ref name="Feldman-2012"/> Leaked emails showed that in 2009 [[Bill Sammon]], the Fox News Washington managing editor, instructed Fox News journalists to dispute the [[scientific consensus on climate change]] and "refrain from asserting that the planet has warmed (or cooled) in any given period without IMMEDIATELY pointing out that such theories are based upon data that critics have called into question."<ref>{{Cite book |title=From Corporate to Social Media: Critical Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility in Media and Communication Industries |last=Sandoval |first=Marisol |publisher=Routledge |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-41572-256-8}}</ref> According to climate scientist [[Michael E. Mann]], Fox News "has constructed an alternative universe where the laws of physics no longer apply, where the [[greenhouse effect]] is a myth, and where climate change is a hoax, the product of a massive conspiracy among scientists, who somehow have gotten the polar bears, glaciers, sea levels, superstorms, and megadroughts to play along."<ref name="Mann-2016"/> According to [[James Lawrence Powell]]'s 2011 study of the [[climate science denial]] movement, Fox News provides "the deniers with a platform to say whatever they like without fear of contradiction."<ref name="Powell-2011"/> Fox News employs [[Steve Milloy]], a prominent [[climate change denier]] with close financial and organizational ties to oil companies, as a contributor. In his columns about climate change for ''FoxNews.com'', Fox News has failed to disclose his substantial funding from oil companies.<ref name="handful">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/merchantsofdoubt00ores |url-access=registration |title=Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming |last1=Oreskes |first1=Naomi |author1-link=Naomi Oreskes |last2=Conway |first2=Erik M. |date=2010 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-60819-293-9}}</ref> In 2011, the hosts of ''Fox & Friends'' described climate change as "unproven science", a "disputed fact", and criticized the [[United States Department of Education|Department of Education]] for working together with the children's network [[Nickelodeon]] to teach children about climate change.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/fox-friends-hosts-slam-spongebob-220459 |title=''Fox & Friends'' Slam SpongeBob SquarePants' 'Global Warming Agenda' (Video) |first=Kimberly |last=Nordyke |date=August 8, 2011 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=February 9, 2018 |archive-date=November 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101023019/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/fox-friends-hosts-slam-spongebob-220459 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2001, Sean Hannity described the [[scientific consensus on climate change]] as "phony science from the left".<ref name="McKnight-2010">{{Cite journal |last=McKnight |first=David |date=December 1, 2010 |title=A change in the climate? The journalism of opinion at News Corporation |journal=Journalism |volume=11 |issue=6 |pages=693–706 |doi=10.1177/1464884910379704 |s2cid=144001549 |issn=1464-8849}}</ref> In 2004, he falsely alleged that "scientists still can't agree on whether the global warming is scientific fact or fiction".<ref name="McKnight-2010"/> In 2010, Hannity said the so-called [[Climatic Research Unit email controversy|"Climategate"]] – the leaking of e-mails by climate scientist that climate change skeptics claimed demonstrated scientific misconduct but which all subsequent enquiries have found no evidence of misconduct or wrongdoing – a "scandal" that "exposed global warming as a myth cooked up by alarmists".<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-07-11/news/ct-oped-0711-page-20100711_1_climate-change-scientific-journals-scientists |title=Climate change heats up again |first=Clarence |last=Page |date=July 11, 2010 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |access-date=October 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716024224/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-07-11/news/ct-oped-0711-page-20100711_1_climate-change-scientific-journals-scientists |archive-date=July 16, 2010}}</ref> Hannity frequently invites contrarian fringe scientists and critics of climate change to his shows.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RsYr_iQUs6QC&q=hannity+%22climate+change%22&pg=PA144 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society |last1=Dryzek |first1=John S. |last2=Norgaard |first2=Richard B. |last3=Schlosberg |first3=David |date=August 18, 2011 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19956-660-0 |access-date=October 31, 2020 |archive-date=February 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204030225/https://books.google.com/books?id=RsYr_iQUs6QC&q=hannity+%22climate+change%22&pg=PA144#v=snippet&q=hannity%20%22climate%20change%22&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019, a widely shared Fox News news report falsely claimed that new climate science research showed that the Earth might be heading to a new Ice Age; the author of the study that Fox News cited said that Fox News "utterly misrepresents our research" and the study did not in any way suggest that Earth was heading to an Ice Age. Fox News later corrected the story.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://climatefeedback.org/claimreview/claim-of-a-coming-ice-age-misrepresents-the-study-it-relies-on/|title=Claim of a coming ice age misrepresents the study it relies on|date=November 1, 2019|website=Climate Feedback|access-date=November 4, 2019|archive-date=December 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230104406/https://climatefeedback.org/claimreview/claim-of-a-coming-ice-age-misrepresents-the-study-it-relies-on/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Shepard Smith]] drew attention for being one of few voices formerly on Fox News to forcefully state that climate change is real, that human activities are a primary contributor to it and that there is a [[Scientific consensus on climate change|scientific consensus]] on the issue.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/2/15727170/fox-news-acknowledged-climate-change-real |title=Fox News actually acknowledged that climate change is real |first=Jeff |last=Guo |date=June 2, 2017 |work=Vox |access-date=June 2, 2017 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230141624/https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/2/15727170/fox-news-acknowledged-climate-change-real |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/aug/17/fox-news-inner-struggle-with-climate-misinformation |title=Fox News' inner struggle with climate misinformation |last=Nuccitelli |first=Dana |date=August 17, 2015 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=June 2, 2017 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=December 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206020816/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/aug/17/fox-news-inner-struggle-with-climate-misinformation |url-status=live }}</ref> His acceptance of the scientific consensus on climate change drew criticism from Fox News viewers and conservatives.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/687771/fox-news-viewers-are-gunning-shep-smith-how-fox-news-respond |title=Fox News viewers are gunning for Shep Smith. How will Fox News respond? |date=March 23, 2017 |website=[[The Week]] |access-date=June 2, 2017 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230054007/https://theweek.com/speedreads/687771/fox-news-viewers-are-gunning-shep-smith-how-fox-news-respond |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/shepard-smith-the-fox-news-anchorman-who-drives-the-fox-news-faithful-crazy/2017/03/21/2a6d30a0-0e64-11e7-9d5a-a83e627dc120_story.html |title=Shepard Smith, the Fox News anchorman who drives the Fox News faithful crazy |last=Farhi |first=Paul |date=March 21, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=June 2, 2017 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230081036/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/shepard-smith-the-fox-news-anchorman-who-drives-the-fox-news-faithful-crazy/2017/03/21/2a6d30a0-0e64-11e7-9d5a-a83e627dc120_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Smith left Fox News in October 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Oliver Darcy and Brian Stelter|date=October 11, 2019|title=Shepard Smith makes shocking announcement that he is leaving Fox News|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/11/media/shepard-smith-leaving-fox-news/index.html|access-date=January 24, 2022|website=CNN|archive-date=January 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125051835/https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/11/media/shepard-smith-leaving-fox-news/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In a 2021 interview with [[Christiane Amanpour]] on her [[Amanpour & Company|eponymous show]] in [[CNN]], he stated that his presence on Fox had become "untenable" due to the "falsehoods" and "lies" intentionally spread on the network's opinion shows.<ref>{{cite news|date=January 20, 2021|last=Benveniste|first=Alexis|title=Shep Smith breaks his silence about why he left Fox News|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/20/media/shep-smith-fox-amanpour/index.html|access-date=January 22, 2022|website=CNN|archive-date=January 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125040415/https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/20/media/shep-smith-fox-amanpour/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lonas|first=Lexi|date=January 19, 2021|title=Shep Smith on former employment at Fox News: 'I stuck with it for as long as I could'|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/534903-shep-smith-on-former-employer-fox-news-i-stuck-with-it-as-long-as-i-could/|access-date=January 24, 2022|website=The Hill|archive-date=January 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125040411/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/534903-shep-smith-on-former-employer-fox-news-i-stuck-with-it-as-long-as-i-could|url-status=live}}</ref> === Murder of Seth Rich conspiracy === {{see also|Murder of Seth Rich}} On May 16, 2017, a day when other news organizations were extensively covering [[Donald Trump revelation of classified information to Russia|Donald Trump's revelation of classified information to Russia]],<ref name="Snopes-2017">{{Cite news |url=http://www.snopes.com/seth-rich-dnc-wikileaks-murder/ |title=FACT CHECK: Did DNC Staffer Seth Rich Send 'Thousands of E-Mails' to WikiLeaks Before He Was Murdered? |date=May 16, 2017 |work=Snopes.com |access-date=May 16, 2017 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125112757/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/seth-rich-dnc-wikileaks-murder/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Fox News ran a lead story about a private investigator's uncorroborated claims about the [[murder of Seth Rich]], a [[Democratic National Committee|DNC]] staffer.<ref name="Seitz-Wald-2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/dnc-staffer-s-murder-draws-fresh-conspiracy-theories-n760186 |title=DNC staffer's murder draws fresh conspiracy theories |first=Alex |last=Seitz-Wald |date=May 16, 2017 |publisher=NBC News |access-date=May 16, 2017 |archive-date=December 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215203952/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/dnc-staffer-s-murder-draws-fresh-conspiracy-theories-n760186 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Hermann-2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/family-of-slain-seth-rich-says-reports-he-fed-wikileaks-dnc-info-are-untrue/2017/05/16/9b32ef9c-3a46-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html |title=Family of slain Seth Rich says reports that he fed DNC info to WikiLeaks are untrue |first=Peter |last=Hermann |date=May 16, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 16, 2017 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112020030/https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/family-of-slain-seth-rich-says-reports-he-fed-wikileaks-dnc-info-are-untrue/2017/05/16/9b32ef9c-3a46-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Darcy-2017">{{Cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/05/16/media/seth-rich-family-response-claims-of-wikileaks-contact/index.html |title=Story on DNC staffer's murder dominated conservative media – hours later it fell apart |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |date=May 16, 2017 |website=CNN Money |access-date=May 17, 2017 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225021203/https://money.cnn.com/2017/05/16/media/seth-rich-family-response-claims-of-wikileaks-contact/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The private investigator said he had uncovered evidence that Rich was in contact with WikiLeaks and law enforcement were covering it up.<ref name="Seitz-Wald-2017"/> The killing of Rich has given rise to [[conspiracy theories]] in right-wing circles that Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party had Seth Rich killed allegedly because he was the source of the [[DNC leaks]].<ref name="Seitz-Wald-2017"/> U.S. intelligence agencies determined Russia was the source of the leaks.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-cyber-celebrate-idUSKBN14P2NI |title=U.S. intel report identifies Russians who gave emails to WikiLeaks – officials |date=January 6, 2017 |work=Reuters |access-date=July 3, 2017 |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103155319/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-cyber-celebrate-idUSKBN14P2NI |url-status=live }}</ref> In reporting the investigator's claims, the Fox News report reignited right-wing conspiracy theories about the killing.<ref name="Seitz-Wald-2017"/><ref name="Darcy-2017"/> The Fox News story fell apart within hours.<ref name="Darcy-2018">{{Cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/14/media/seth-rich-lawsuit-fox-news/index.html |title=Family of slain Democratic staffer Seth Rich sues Fox News |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |date=March 14, 2018 |work=CNN Money |access-date=March 14, 2018 |archive-date=December 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229214550/https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/14/media/seth-rich-lawsuit-fox-news/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Other news organizations quickly revealed the investigator was a Donald Trump supporter and had according to NBC News "developed a reputation for making outlandish claims, such as one appearance on Fox News in 2007 in which he warned that underground networks of pink pistol-toting lesbian gangs were raping young women."<ref name="Seitz-Wald-2017"/><ref name="Bromwich-2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/us/seth-rich-dnc-wikileaks.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/us/seth-rich-dnc-wikileaks.html |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=How the Murder of a D.N.C. Staffer Fueled Conspiracy Theories |last=Bromwich |first=Jonah Engel |date=May 17, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=May 17, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The family of Seth Rich, the Washington D.C. police department, the Washington D.C. mayor's office, the FBI, and law enforcement sources familiar with the case rebuked the investigator's claims.<ref name="Seitz-Wald-2017"/><ref name="Hermann-2017"/> Rich's relatives said: "We are a family who is committed to facts, not fake evidence that surfaces every few months to fill the void and distract law enforcement and the general public from finding Seth's murderers."<ref name="Seitz-Wald-2017"/> The spokesperson for the family criticized Fox News for its reporting, alleging the outlet was motivated by a desire to deflect attention from the Trump-Russia story: "I think there's a very special place in hell for people that would use the memory of a murder victim in order to pursue a political agenda."<ref name="Snopes-2017"/> The family has called for retractions and apologies from Fox News for the inaccurate reporting.<ref name="Bromwich-2017"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/05/17/media/seth-rich-family-apology-retraction-fox-news-wttg/index.html |title=Family of slain DNC staffer demands retraction and apology from Fox News, local TV station |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |date=May 17, 2017 |website=CNN Money |access-date=May 17, 2017 |archive-date=December 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213161649/https://money.cnn.com/2017/05/17/media/seth-rich-family-apology-retraction-fox-news-wttg/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Over the course of the day, Fox News altered the contents of the story and the headline, but did not issue corrections.<ref name="Bromwich-2017"/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fox-news-seth-rich_us_591cd078e4b034684b093717 |title=Fox Stands By DNC Murder Conspiracy Theory Even After Main Source Changes Story |last=Waldron |first=Travis |date=May 18, 2017 |work=HuffPost |access-date=May 18, 2017 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230060240/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fox-news-seth-rich_n_591cd078e4b034684b093717 |url-status=live }}</ref> When CNN contacted the private investigator later that day, the investigator said he had no evidence that Rich had contacted WikiLeaks.<ref name="Darcy-2017"/> The investigator claimed he only learned about the possible existence of the evidence from a Fox News reporter.<ref name="Darcy-2017"/> Fox News did not respond to inquiries by CNN, and the Washington Post.<ref name="Hermann-2017"/><ref name="Darcy-2017"/> Fox News later on May 23, seven days after the story was published, retracted its original report, saying the original report did not meet its standards.<ref name="Darcy-2018"/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-fox-news-retracts-story-alleging-dnc-1495565128-htmlstory.html |title=Fox News retracts story alleging DNC staffer Seth Rich leaked information to WikiLeaks before death |date=May 23, 2017 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=May 23, 2017 |issn=0458-3035 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524135956/http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-fox-news-retracts-story-alleging-dnc-1495565128-htmlstory.html |archive-date=May 24, 2017}}</ref> [[Nicole Hemmer]], then assistant professor at the [[Miller Center of Public Affairs]], wrote that the promotion of the conspiracy theory demonstrated how Fox News was "remaking itself in the image of fringe media in the age of Trump, blurring the lines between real and fake news."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2017-05-23/fox-news-is-destroying-itself-turning-into-a-breitbart-copy-for-trump |title=The Breitbartization of Fox News |last=Hemmer |first=Nicole |date=May 23, 2017 |website=US News |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230140149/https://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2017-05-23/fox-news-is-destroying-itself-turning-into-a-breitbart-copy-for-trump |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Max Boot]] of the [[Council on Foreign Relations]] said while intent behind Fox News, as a counterweight to the liberal media was laudable, the culmination of those efforts have been to create an alternative news source that promotes hoaxes and myths, of which the promotion of the Seth Rich conspiracy is an example.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/05/22/the-seth-rich-scandal-shows-that-fox-news-is-morally-bankrupt/ |title=The Seth Rich 'Scandal' Shows That Fox News Is Morally Bankrupt |first=Max |last=Boot |date=May 22, 2017 |website=Foreign Policy |access-date=May 23, 2017 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230105416/https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/05/22/the-seth-rich-scandal-shows-that-fox-news-is-morally-bankrupt/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Fox News was also criticized by conservative outlets, such as ''[[The Weekly Standard]]'',<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/prime-time-conspiracy-theory/article/2008229 |title=Prime-Time Conspiracy Theory |first=John |last=McCormack |date=May 26, 2017 |work=Weekly Standard |access-date=May 27, 2017 |archive-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526083000/http://www.weeklystandard.com/prime-time-conspiracy-theory/article/2008229 }}</ref> ''[[National Review]]'',<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/morning-jolt/447911/seth-rich-murder-conspiracy-katy-perry-manchester-attack-comments |title=The Facts of the Seth Rich Murder That Don't Support Conspiracy Theories |first=Jim |last=Geraghty |date=May 24, 2017 |work=National Review |access-date=May 27, 2017 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125112732/https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/seth-rich-murder-conspiracy-katy-perry-manchester-attack-comments/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=French|first=David|author-link=David French (political commentator)|date=May 24, 2017|title=The Seth Rich Conspiracy Theory Is Shameful Nonsense|work=National Review|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/447903/sean-hannity-seth-rich-conspiracy-theory-disgrace|access-date=May 27, 2017|archive-date=May 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170528094135/http://www.nationalreview.com/article/447903/sean-hannity-seth-rich-conspiracy-theory-disgrace|url-status=live}}</ref> and conservative columnists, such as [[Jennifer Rubin (columnist)|Jennifer Rubin]],<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/05/24/questions-fox-and-the-right-need-to-answer/ |title=Questions Fox and the right need to answer |last=Rubin |first=Jennifer |date=May 24, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 27, 2017 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111231656/https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/05/24/questions-fox-and-the-right-need-to-answer/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Michael Gerson]],<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-conservative-mind-has-become-diseased/2017/05/25/523f0964-4159-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html |title=The conservative mind has become diseased |last=Gerson |first=Michael |date=May 25, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 29, 2017 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=January 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105132004/https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-conservative-mind-has-become-diseased/2017/05/25/523f0964-4159-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[John Podhoretz]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.commentarymagazine.com/politics-ideas/the-shame-of-defaming-seth-rich/ |title=The Shameless Conspiracy Theorizing Involving Seth Rich Must Stop |first=John |last=Podhoretz |date=May 23, 2017 |work=Commentary Magazine |access-date=May 28, 2017 |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525021948/https://www.commentarymagazine.com/politics-ideas/the-shame-of-defaming-seth-rich/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Rich's parents, Joel and Mary Rich, sued Fox News for the emotional distress it had caused them by its false reporting. In 2020, Fox News settled with Rich family, making a payment that was not officially disclosed but which was reported to be in the seven figures.<ref name="settlement">{{Citation| last = Isikoff| first = Michael| author-link = Michael Isikoff| title = Fox paid seven figures to settle lawsuit over bogus Seth Rich conspiracy story| publisher = [[Yahoo! News]]| date = November 24, 2020| url = https://news.yahoo.com/fox-paid-seven-figures-to-settle-lawsuit-over-bogus-seth-rich-conspiracy-story-003236858.html| access-date = November 28, 2020| archive-date = December 13, 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201213162844/https://news.yahoo.com/fox-paid-seven-figures-to-settle-lawsuit-over-bogus-seth-rich-conspiracy-story-003236858.html| url-status = live}}</ref> Although the settlement had been agreed to earlier in the year, Fox News arranged to delay the public announcement until after the 2020 presidential election.<ref name="settlement"/><ref>{{cite news | title=Fox Settled a Lawsuit Over Its Lies. But It Insisted on One Unusual Condition | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/17/business/media/fox-news-seth-rich-settlement.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage | work=The New York Times | date=January 18, 2021 | last1=Smith | first1=Ben | access-date=January 18, 2021 | archive-date=February 2, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202160047/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/17/business/media/fox-news-seth-rich-settlement.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage | url-status=live }}</ref> === Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville === {{Further|Unite the Right rally}} Fox News hosts and contributors defended Trump's remarks that "many sides" were to blame for violence at a gathering of hundreds of [[white nationalists]] in Charlottesville, Virginia.<ref name="Grynbaum-2017a">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/business/media/wow-stunned-tv-hosts-reacted-in-real-time-to-trump.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/business/media/wow-stunned-tv-hosts-reacted-in-real-time-to-trump.html |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title='Wow': Stunned TV Hosts Reacted in Real Time to Trump |last=Grynbaum |first=Michael M. |date=August 15, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=August 16, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Weigel-2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/08/17/in-conservative-media-an-amen-chorus-defends-trump-on-charlottesville/ |title=In conservative media, an amen chorus defends Trump's comments on Charlottesville violence |first=David |last=Weigel |author-link=David Weigel |date=August 17, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 18, 2017 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230072906/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/08/17/in-conservative-media-an-amen-chorus-defends-trump-on-charlottesville/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Some criticized Trump.<ref name="Weigel-2017"/><ref name="Byers-2017">{{Cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/08/16/media/fox-charlottesville-prime-time/index.html |title=After Trump's Charlottesville remarks, Fox News focuses on the left and the media |last=Byers |first=Dylan |date=August 16, 2017 |website=CNN Money |access-date=August 16, 2017 |archive-date=September 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200907035733/https://money.cnn.com/2017/08/16/media/fox-charlottesville-prime-time/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In a press conference on August 15, Trump used the term "alt-left" to describe counterprotesters at the [[white supremacist]] rally, a term which had been used in Fox News' coverage of the white supremacist rally.<ref name="Grynbaum-2017a"/> Several of Trump's comments at the press conference mirrored those appearing earlier on Fox News.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.wired.com/story/donald-trump-charlottesville-press-conference-white-supremacy/ |title=Trump Cribbed His Charlottesville Press Conference Straight From Fox News |first=Ashley |last=Feinberg |date=August 15, 2017 |magazine=WIRED |access-date=August 16, 2017 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230083847/https://www.wired.com/story/donald-trump-charlottesville-press-conference-white-supremacy/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to [[Dylan Byers]] of CNN, Fox News' coverage on the day of the press conference "was heavy with "[[whataboutism]]". The average Fox viewer was likely left with the impression that the media's criticism of Trump and leftist protestors' toppling of some Confederate statues were far greater threats to America than white supremacism or the president's apparent defense of bigotry."<ref name="Byers-2017"/> Byers wrote "it showed that if Fox News has a line when it comes to Trump's presidency, it was not crossed on Tuesday."<ref name="Byers-2017"/> === Glenn Beck's comments about George Soros === During [[Glenn Beck]]'s tenure at Fox News, he became one of the most high-profile proponents of [[George Soros#Conspiracy theories|conspiracy theories about George Soros]], a Jewish Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist known for his donations to [[Modern liberalism in the United States|American liberal]] political causes.<ref name="Lee-2018">{{Cite news |url=https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/why-the-conspiracy-theories-about-george-soros-dont-stack-up |title=FactCheck: Why the conspiracy theories about George Soros don't stack up |first=Georgina |last=Lee |date=February 15, 2018 |work=Channel 4 News |access-date=May 31, 2018 |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111151312/https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/why-the-conspiracy-theories-about-george-soros-dont-stack-up |url-status=live }}</ref> Beck regularly described Soros as a "puppet-master" and used common [[anti-Semitic]] tropes to describe Soros and his activities.<ref name="Lee-2018"/> In a 2010 three-part series, Beck depicted George Soros as a cartoonish villain trying to "form a shadow government, using humanitarian aid as a cover," and that Soros wanted a one-world government.<ref name="Selk-2018">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2018/05/30/unpacking-the-george-soros-was-a-jew-killing-nazi-conspiracy-theory-that-roseanne-barr-spreads/ |title=Debunking the George Soros-was-a-Jew-killing-Nazi conspiracy theory that Roseanne Barr spreads |last=Selk |first=Avi |date=May 30, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 31, 2018 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125024930/https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2018/05/30/unpacking-the-george-soros-was-a-jew-killing-nazi-conspiracy-theory-that-roseanne-barr-spreads/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Mirkinson-2010">{{Cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/11/adl-beck-soros_n_782420.html |title=ADL Condemns Glenn Beck For 'Offensive,' 'Horrific' Attacks On George Soros (Video) |last=Mirkinson |first=Jack |date=November 11, 2010 |work=HuffPost |access-date=May 31, 2018 |archive-date=December 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219030519/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/11/adl-beck-soros_n_782420.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Beck promoted the false and anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Soros was a [[Nazi collaborator]] as a 14-year-old in Nazi-occupied Hungary.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/george-soros-ss-nazi-germany/ |title=Was George Soros an SS Officer or Nazi Collaborator during World War II? |first=David |last=Emery |date=November 28, 2016 |website=Snopes |access-date=October 17, 2019 |archive-date=November 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102212019/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/george-soros-ss-nazi-germany/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Beck also characterized Soros's mother as a "wildly anti-Semitic" Nazi collaborator.<ref name="Selk-2018"/> According to ''The Washington Post'': "Beck's series was largely considered obscene and delusional, if not outright anti-Semitic", but Beck's conspiracy theory became common on the right-wing of American politics.<ref name="Selk-2018"/> Amid criticism of Beck's false smears, Fox News defended Beck, stating "information regarding Mr. Soros's experiences growing up were taken directly from his writings and from interviews given by him to the media, and no negative opinion was offered as to his actions as a child."<ref name="Mirkinson-2010"/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/us/12beck.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/us/12beck.html |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=Glenn Beck's Remarks About George Soros Criticized by A.D.L. |last=Stelter |first=Brian |date=November 11, 2010 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=May 31, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Roger Ailes, then-head of Fox News, dismissed criticism levied at Beck by hundreds of rabbis, saying that they were "left-wing rabbis who basically don't think that anybody can ever use the word, Holocaust, on the air."<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/nov/18/roger-ailes-fox-news-npr-nazis |title=Fox News chief Roger Ailes apologises after describing NPR as 'Nazis' |last=Adams |first=Richard |date=November 18, 2010 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=May 31, 2018 |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230073300/https://www.theguardian.com/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/nov/18/roger-ailes-fox-news-npr-nazis |url-status=live }}</ref> === COVID-19 pandemic === {{main|Fox News controversies#Coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic|Media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic|l1=Fox News coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic}} During the first few weeks of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States]], Fox News was considerably more likely than other mainstream news outlets to promote misinformation about [[COVID-19]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/a8r3p|title=How Right-Leaning Media Coverage of COVID-19 Facilitated the Spread of Misinformation in the Early Stages of the Pandemic|last=Motta|first=Matt|website=osf.io|access-date=April 18, 2020|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223200735/https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/a8r3p|url-status=live}}</ref> The network promoted the narrative that the emergency response to the pandemic was politically motivated or otherwise unwarranted,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/media/fox-news-coronavirus/index.html |title=How Fox News misled viewers about the coronavirus |date=March 13, 2020 |publisher=CNN |access-date=April 5, 2020 |archive-date=December 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208181915/https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/media/fox-news-coronavirus/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> with [[Sean Hannity]] explicitly calling it a "hoax" (he later denied doing so) and other hosts downplaying it.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rieger |first=JM |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/19/sean-hannity-denied-calling-coronavirus-hoax-nine-days-after-he-called-coronavirus-hoax/ |title=Sean Hannity denied calling coronavirus a hoax nine days after he called coronavirus a hoax |date=March 19, 2020 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=April 5, 2020 |archive-date=December 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207134118/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/19/sean-hannity-denied-calling-coronavirus-hoax-nine-days-after-he-called-coronavirus-hoax/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This coverage was consistent with the messaging of Trump at the time.<ref name=Wapo2020-03-17>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/on-fox-news-suddenly-a-very-different-tune-about-the-coronavirus/2020/03/16/7a7637cc-678f-11ea-9923-57073adce27c_story.html|title=On Fox News, suddenly a very different tune about the coronavirus|year=2020|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 18, 2020|archive-date=January 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103171038/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/on-fox-news-suddenly-a-very-different-tune-about-the-coronavirus/2020/03/16/7a7637cc-678f-11ea-9923-57073adce27c_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Only in mid March did the network change the tone of its coverage,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gabbatt |first=Adam |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/mar/17/fox-news-coronavirus-outbreak-trump |title='We have a responsibility': Fox News declares coronavirus a crisis in abrupt U-turn |date=March 17, 2020 |work=The Guardian |access-date=April 5, 2020 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117222625/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/mar/17/fox-news-coronavirus-outbreak-trump |url-status=live }}</ref> after President Trump declared a national emergency.<ref name=Wapo2020-03-17/> At the same time that Fox News commentators downplayed the threat of the virus in public, Fox's management and the Murdoch family took a broad range of internal measures to protect themselves and their employees against it.<ref>{{Cite news|last=James|first=Meg|date=March 12, 2020|title=Fox News addresses coronavirus threat internally as on-air talent faces criticism|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2020-03-12/fox-news-coronavirus-threat|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=December 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230071638/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2020-03-12/fox-news-coronavirus-threat|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Smith|first=Ben|date=March 23, 2020|title=As Fox News Played Down the Coronavirus, Its Chief Protected Himself|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/business/media/fox-news-coronavirus-rupert-murdoch.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323223005/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/business/media/fox-news-coronavirus-rupert-murdoch.html |archive-date=March 23, 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=April 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Arciga|first=Julia|date=March 24, 2020|title=Murdoch's 89th Birthday Party Canceled While Fox Downplayed Virus: NYT|work=Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/rupert-murdochs-89th-birthday-party-reportedly-canceled-while-fox-downplayed-coronavirus|access-date=April 7, 2020|archive-date=December 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230021555/https://www.thedailybeast.com/rupert-murdochs-89th-birthday-party-reportedly-canceled-while-fox-downplayed-coronavirus|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Derysh|first=Igor|date=March 25, 2020|title=Murdoch family took serious precautions against coronavirus as Fox News downplayed risk to public|work=Salon|url=https://www.salon.com/2020/03/25/murdoch-family-took-serious-precautions-against-coronavirus-as-fox-news-downplayed-risk-to-public/|access-date=April 7, 2020|archive-date=December 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228204650/https://www.salon.com/2020/03/25/murdoch-family-took-serious-precautions-against-coronavirus-as-fox-news-downplayed-risk-to-public/|url-status=live}}</ref> Sean Hannity and [[Laura Ingraham]], two of Fox News's primetime hosts, promoted use of the drug [[hydroxychloroquine]] for the treatment of COVID-19, an [[off-label]] usage which at the time was supported only by [[anecdotal evidence]], after it was touted by Trump as a possible cure.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rupar |first=Aaron |url=https://www.vox.com/2020/3/24/21192222/fox-news-coronavirus-coverage-dan-patrick-drugs |title=Fox News's coronavirus coverage slid back off the rails spectacularly on Monday night |date=March 24, 2020 |work=Vox |access-date=April 5, 2020 |archive-date=January 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101001758/https://www.vox.com/2020/3/24/21192222/fox-news-coronavirus-coverage-dan-patrick-drugs |url-status=live }}</ref> Fox News promoted a [[conspiracy theory]] that coronavirus death toll numbers were inflated with people who would have died anyway from preexisting conditions. This was disputed by White House coronavirus task force members [[Anthony Fauci]] and [[Deborah Birx]], with Fauci describing conspiracy theories as "nothing but distractions" during public health crises.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brewster |first1=Jack |title=A Fox News Conspiracy—Are Coronavirus Death Numbers Inflated?—Attacked By Fauci, Birx |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2020/04/09/a-fox-news-conspiracy-are-coronavirus-death-numbers-inflated-attacked-by-fauci-birx/ |website=Forbes |access-date=April 11, 2020 |date=April 9, 2020 |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103170621/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2020/04/09/a-fox-news-conspiracy-are-coronavirus-death-numbers-inflated-attacked-by-fauci-birx/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Later in the pandemic, Hannity, Ingraham and Carlson promoted the use of livestock [[dewormer]] [[ivermectin]] as a possible COVID-19 treatment.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |date=August 23, 2023 |title=Right-wing media pushed a deworming drug to treat Covid-19 that the FDA says is unsafe for humans |language=en-US |work=[[CNN]] |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/23/media/right-wing-media-ivermectin/index.html |access-date=April 19, 2023 |archive-date=August 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824110456/https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/23/media/right-wing-media-ivermectin/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Studies have linked trust in Fox News,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Zhao|first1=Erfei|last2=Wu|first2=Qiao|last3=Crimmins|first3=Eileen M.|last4=Ailshire|first4=Jennifer A.|date=October 1, 2020|title=Media trust and infection mitigating behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA|journal=BMJ Global Health|volume=5|issue=10|pages=e003323|doi=10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003323|issn=2059-7908|pmc=7545496|pmid=33037063|doi-access=free|s2cid=222229835}}</ref> as well as viewership of Fox News,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Simonov|first1=Andrey|last2=Sacher|first2=Szymon|last3=Dubé|first3=Jean-Pierre|last4=Biswas|first4=Shirsho|date=December 16, 2021|title=Frontiers: The Persuasive Effect of Fox News: Noncompliance with Social Distancing During the COVID-19 Pandemic|url=https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mksc.2021.1328|journal=Marketing Science|volume=41|issue=2|pages=230–242|doi=10.1287/mksc.2021.1328|s2cid=245299737|issn=0732-2399|access-date=December 25, 2021|archive-date=December 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221021630/https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mksc.2021.1328|url-status=live}}</ref> with fewer preventive behaviors and more risky behaviors related to COVID-19.<ref>{{citation|last1=Ash|first1=Elliott|last2=Galletta|first2=Sergio|last3=Hangartner|first3=Dominik|last4=Margalit|first4=Yotam|last5=Pinna|first5=Matteo|date=June 27, 2020|title=The Effect of Fox News on Health Behavior During COVID-19|location=Rochester, New York|doi=10.2139/ssrn.3636762|hdl=20.500.11850/427768|ssrn=3636762|s2cid=242785823|url=http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/119447/1/Hangartner_effect_of_fox_news_on_health_behavior_published.pdf|hdl-access=free|access-date=September 14, 2023|archive-date=September 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920024835/http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/119447/1/Hangartner_effect_of_fox_news_on_health_behavior_published.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Once a COVID-19 vaccine became widely available, Fox News consistently questioned the efficacy and safety of the vaccine, celebrated evidence-free skepticism, and blasted attempts to promote vaccinations.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Thompson|first=Derek|date=September 26, 2021|title=How America's Vaccination Campaign Fell Behind the World's|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/09/how-america-lost-its-lead-vaccination/620201/|access-date=September 26, 2021|website=The Atlantic}}</ref> More than 90% of Fox Corporation's full-time employees had been fully vaccinated by September 2021.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/sep/15/fox-news-vaccines-testing-tucker-carlson "Nearly all Fox staffers vaccinated for Covid even as hosts cast doubt on vaccine"]. ''Guardian''. September 15, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2022</ref> ===2020 election fraud allegations and lawsuits by Dominion and Smartmatic === {{see also|Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network|Big lie#Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen election}} After Trump's defeat in the 2020 presidential election, Fox News host [[Jeanine Pirro]] promoted baseless allegations on her program that voting machine company [[Smartmatic]] and its competitor [[Dominion Voting Systems]] had conspired to rig the election against Trump. Hosts [[Lou Dobbs]] and [[Maria Bartiromo]] also promoted the allegations on their programs on sister network [[Fox Business]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 4, 2021|title=Fox News and three hosts sued for $2.7 billion by voting machine company over election-fraud claims|publisher=Associated Press|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2021/02/04/fox-news-three-hosts-trump-lawyers-sued-over-election-fraud-claims/4392023001/|access-date=February 23, 2022|via=USA Today}}</ref> In December 2020, Smartmatic sent a letter to Fox News demanding retractions and threatening legal action, specifying that retractions "must be published on multiple occasions" so as to "match the attention and audience targeted with the original defamatory publications."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mediaite.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Legal-Notice-and-Retraction-Demand-from-Smartmatic-USA-Corp-to-Fox-News.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214172710/https://www.mediaite.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Legal-Notice-and-Retraction-Demand-from-Smartmatic-USA-Corp-to-Fox-News.pdf |archive-date=December 14, 2020 |url-status=live|title=Legal Notice and Retraction Demand from Smartmatic USA Corp to Fox News|website=Mediaite|date=December 10, 2020|access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref> Days later, each of the three programs aired the same three-minute video segment consisting of an interview with an election technology expert who refuted the allegations promoted by the hosts, responding to questions from an unseen and unidentified man. None of the three hosts personally issued retractions. Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation suit against the network, the three hosts, Powell and Trump attorney [[Rudy Giuliani]] in February 2021.<ref>{{cite web|last=Darcy|first=Oliver|date=February 4, 2021|title=Voting technology company Smartmatic files $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell over 'disinformation campaign'|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/04/media/smartmatic-fox-news-giuliani-powell-lawsuit/index.html|access-date=February 23, 2022|publisher=CNN}}</ref> In an April 2021 court brief seeking dismissal of the suit, Fox attorney [[Paul Clement]] argued that the network was simply "reporting allegations made by a sitting President and his lawyers."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lawandcrime.com/2020-election/fox-news-lawyers-renew-bid-to-get-smartmatics-billion-dollar-case-thrown-out-of-court-the-real-threat-to-democracy-is-this-lawsuit/|title=Fox News Lawyers Renew Bid to Get Smartmatic's Billion-Dollar Case Thrown Out of Court: The Real 'Threat' to Democracy Is This Lawsuit|date=April 26, 2021|access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref> A New York State Supreme Court judge ruled in March 2022 that the suit could proceed, though he dismissed allegations against [[Sidney Powell]] and Pirro, and some claims against Giuliani. The judge allowed allegations against Bartiromo and Dobbs to stand.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stempel |first1=Jonathan |title=Smartmatic can pursue election-rigging claims against Fox News, Giuliani |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/smartmatic-can-pursue-election-rigging-claims-against-fox-news-giuliani-2022-03-08/ |publisher=Reuters |date=March 8, 2022}}</ref> The [[New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division]] unanimously rejected a Fox News bid to dismiss the Smartmatic suit in February 2023. The court reinstated defamation allegations against Giuliani and Pirro.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stempel |first1=Jonathan |title=Fox News must face Smartmatic's lawsuit over election-rigging claims |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/fox-news-must-face-smartmatics-lawsuit-over-election-rigging-claims-2023-02-14/ |publisher=Reuters |date=February 14, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Larson |first1=Eric |title=Giuliani, Pirro Thrown Back Into 2020 Vote-Fraud Defamation Case |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-14/giuliani-pirro-thrown-back-into-2020-vote-fraud-defamation-case |publisher=Bloomberg News |date=February 14, 2023}}</ref> In December 2020, Dominion Voting Systems sent a similar letter demanding retractions to Trump attorney Sidney Powell,<ref>{{cite news|date=December 17, 2020|title=Days After Smartmatic's Legal Threat, Dominion Voting Systems Follows Suit with Demand Letter to Sidney Powell|url=https://lawandcrime.com/2020-election/days-after-smartmatics-legal-threat-dominion-voting-systems-follows-suit-with-demand-letter-to-sidney-powell/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=December 18, 2020|title=Lou Dobbs Airs Stunning Fact-Check of His Own Election Claims|url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/lou-dobbs-airs-stunning-fact-check-of-his-own-election-conspiracies-after-company-threatens-legal-action/|access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=December 19, 2020|title=Lou Dobbs debunks his own claims of election fraud—after a legal demand from Smartmatic|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2020/12/19/lou-dobbs-debunk-fact-check-smartmatic/|access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref> who had promoted the allegations on Fox programs.<ref>{{cite news|date=December 20, 2020|title=Fox News fact-checks Smartmatic voting machine fraud claim in staged video|website=The Guardian|url=http://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/dec/20/fox-news-retracts-voting-machine-fraud-claim-smartmatic|access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=December 20, 2020|title=Jeanine Pirro's Show Runs Same Fact-Check as Lou Dobbs—At End of Show With Guest Host|url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/jeanine-pirros-show-runs-same-fact-check-as-lou-dobbs-at-end-of-show-with-guest-host-filling-in/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=December 20, 2020|title=Maria Bartiromo Airs Fact-Check, Adds 'We Will Keep Investigating'|url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/maria-bartiromo-airs-same-fact-check-of-election-conspiracies-as-fox-colleagues-adds-we-will-keep-investigating/}}</ref> On March 26, 2021, Dominion filed a $1.6{{Nbsp}}billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, alleging that Fox and some of its pundits spread conspiracy theories about Dominion, and allowed guests to make false statements about the company.<ref name="Izadi-2021">{{cite news|last=Izadi|first=Elahe|date=March 26, 2021|title=Fox News sued by Dominion Voting for $1.6 billion over election fraud claims|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2021/03/26/fox-dominion-lawsuit-defamation/|access-date=March 26, 2021|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> On May 18, 2021, Fox News filed a motion to dismiss the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit, asserting a [[First Amendment]] right "to inform the public about newsworthy allegations of paramount public concern."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Folkenflik|first1=David|last2=Romo|first2=Vanessa|date=May 18, 2021|title=Fox News Moves To Have Dominion Voting Systems Lawsuit Dismissed|publisher=[[NPR]]|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/05/18/998099249/fox-news-moves-to-have-dominion-voting-systems-lawsuit-dismissed|access-date=May 23, 2021}}</ref> The motion to dismiss was denied on December 16, 2021, by a Delaware Superior Court judge.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Keller |first1=Aaron |title='The Court Can Infer That Fox Intended to Avoid the Truth': Judge Refuses to Dismiss Dominion Lawsuit Against Fox News Over 2020 Election Coverage |url=https://lawandcrime.com/2020-election/the-court-can-infer-that-fox-intended-to-avoid-the-truth-judge-refuses-to-dismiss-dominion-lawsuit-against-fox-news-over-2020-election-coverage/ |work=Law and Crime |date=December 16, 2021|access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref> In addition to Bartiromo, Dobbs, and Pirro, the suit also names primetime hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Larson |first1=Erik |title=Dominion Defamation Suit Against Fox Can Move Forward |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-17/dominion-defamation-suit-against-fox-gets-go-ahead-from-judge |publisher=Bloomberg News |date=December 16, 2021|access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref> Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil sued Fox, Dobbs and Powell for $250 million in December 2021, alleging they had falsely implicated him in rigging Dominion and Smartmatic machines.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shamsian |first1=Jacob |title=Venezuelan man files $250 million lawsuit against Fox News and Sidney Powell after baseless accusations that he rigged 2020 election results |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/venezuelan-man-sues-fox-news-sidney-powell-for-conspiracy-theories-2021-12 |work=Business Insider |date=December 28, 2021|access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref> Dobbs and Fox News reached a confidential settlement with Khalil in April 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Farrell |first1=Maureen |title=Fox News Settles Defamation Case With Venezuelan Businessman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/09/business/fox-news-venezuela-dominion.html |work=The New York Times |date=April 9, 2023}}</ref> Fox News was the only major network or cable news outlet to not carry the first televised [[prime time]] hearing of the [[January 6 committee]] live; its regular programming of ''[[Tucker Carlson Tonight]]'' and ''[[Hannity]]'' was aired without commercial breaks. During the weeks following the election, Carlson and Hannity often amplified Trump's election falsehoods on their programs; previously disclosed text messages between Hannity and White House press secretary [[Kayleigh McEnany]] were presented during the hearing. Hannity told his audience, "Unlike this committee and their cheerleaders in the media mob, we will actually be telling you the truth," while Carlson said, "This is the only hour on an American news channel that won't be covering their propaganda live. They are lying and we are not going to help them do it."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Folkenflik |first1=David |title=Only one major cable news channel did not carry the Jan. 6 hearing live: Fox News |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/10/1104116455/fox-news-jan-6-hearing?t=1654877226057 |publisher=National Public Radio |date=June 10, 2022|quote=As it turned out, the hearings would also have repeatedly required Fox to have broadcast flat contradictions of what many leading Fox News personalities have told their audiences in the past year and a half—including Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. Instead, their prime-time shows continued without commercial interruption Thursday, offering an alternate reality to a hearing that showed vivid and bloody detail of a national crisis.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=CNN Exclusive: New text messages reveal Fox's Hannity advising Trump White House and seeking direction |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/29/politics/hannity-text-messages-meadows-trump-white-house/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=April 30, 2022|author1=Jamie Gangel|author2=Jeremy Herb|author3=Elizabeth Stuart|author4=Brian Stelter}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Peters |first1=Jeremy W. |title=Fox News gives its viewers a revisionist history lesson of Jan. 6. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/09/us/tucker-carlson-sean-hannity-fox-news-jan-6.html |work=The New York Times |date=June 9, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Mastrangelo |first1=Dominick |title=Tucker Carlson: Jan. 6 panel is 'lying and we are not going to help them do it' |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/media/3518349-defiant-tucker-carlson-boasts-fox-news-channel-not-carrying-jan-6-hearing-propaganda-live/ |work=The Hill |date=June 9, 2022}}</ref> In June 2022, a Delaware Superior Court judge again declined to dismiss the Dominion suit against Fox News, and also allowed Dominion to sue the network's corporate parent, Fox Corporation. The judge ruled that Rupert and [[Lachlan Murdoch|Lachlan]] Murdoch may have acted with [[actual malice]] because there was a reasonable inference they "either knew Dominion had not manipulated the election or at least recklessly disregarded the truth when they allegedly caused Fox News to propagate its claims about Dominion." He noted a report that Rupert Murdoch spoke with Trump a few days after the election and informed him that he had lost.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fox News Parent Has to Face Defamation Suit Over Vote-Rigging Claims |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-21/fox-corp-loses-bid-to-toss-dominion-suit-over-election-claims |publisher=Bloomberg News |date=June 21, 2022|author1=Erik Larson|author2= Mike Leonard}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' reported in December 2022 that Dominion had acquired communications between Fox News executives and hosts, and between a Fox Corporation employee and the Trump White House, showing they knew that what the network was reporting was untrue. Dominion attorneys said hosts Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, and Fox executives, attested to this in sworn depositions. In November 2020, Hannity hosted [[Sidney Powell]], who asserted Dominion machines had been rigged, but said in his deposition, "I did not believe it for one second."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Peters |first1=Jeremy W. |title=In Testimony, Hannity and Other Fox Employees Said They Doubted Trump's Fraud Claims |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/21/business/media/sean-hannity-fox-trump-election.html |work=The New York TImes |date=December 21, 2022}}</ref> A February 2023 Dominion court filing showed Fox News primetime hosts messaging each other to insult and mock Trump advisers, indicating the hosts knew the allegations made by Powell and Giuliani were false. Rupert Murdoch messaged that Trump's voter fraud claims were "really crazy stuff," telling Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott that it was "terrible stuff damaging everybody, I fear." As a January 2021 Georgia runoff election approached that would determine party control of the U.S. Senate, Murdoch told Scott, "Trump will concede eventually and we should concentrate on Georgia, helping any way we can."<ref>{{cite news |title=Fox Stars Privately Expressed Disbelief About Election Fraud Claims. 'Crazy Stuff.' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/business/media/fox-dominion-lawsuit.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare |work=The New York Times |date=February 16, 2023|author1=Jeremy W. Peters|author2=Katie Robertson}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Fox News hosts called 2020 election fraud 'total BS' in private, new Dominion court filing says |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/fox-news-hosts-called-2020-election-fraud-total/story?id=97261751 |publisher=ABC News |date=February 16, 2023|author1=Olivia Rubin|author2=Lucien Bruggeman}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Klasfeld |first1=Adam |title='Really crazy stuff': Rupert Murdoch trashed Rudy Giuliani's election theories, unsealed filing in Fox News suit reveals |url=https://lawandcrime.com/2020-election/really-crazy-stuff-rupert-murdoch-trashed-rudy-giulianis-election-theories-unsealed-filing-in-fox-news-suit-reveals/ |work=Law&Crime |date=February 16, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network court filing |url=https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/redacted-documents-in-dominion-fox-news-case/dca5e3880422426f/full.pdf |date=February 16, 2023}}</ref> After the 2016 election, the network developed a cutting-edge system to call elections, which proved very successful during the 2018 midterm elections. The network was the first to call the 2020 Arizona race for Biden, angering many viewers. Washington managing editor [[Bill Sammon]] supervised the network's Decision Desk that made the call. [[Bret Baier]] and [[Martha MacCallum]], the network's main news anchors, suggested during a high-level conference call that relying solely on data to make the call was inadequate and that viewer reaction should also be considered; MacCallum said, "in a Trump environment, the game is just very, very different." Sammon stood by the 2020 call and was fired by the network after the January 2021 Georgia runoff.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |title=Inside the Panic at Fox News After the 2020 Election |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/04/us/politics/panic-fox-news-2020-election.html |work=The New York Times |date=March 4, 2023}}</ref> In 2023, Rupert Murdoch was deposed and testified that some Fox News commentators were endorsing [[Big lie#Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen election|election fraud claims]] they knew were false.<ref name="Matza_2/27/2023">{{cite web | last=Matza | first=Max | title=Rupert Murdoch says Fox News hosts endorsed false election fraud claims | website=[[BBC News]] | date=February 28, 2023 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64794606 | access-date=February 28, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Peters_Robertson_2/27/2023">{{cite web | last1=Peters | first1=Jeremy W | last2=Robertson | first2=Katie | title=Murdoch Acknowledges Fox News Hosts Endorsed Election Fraud Falsehoods | website=[[The New York Times]] | date=February 27, 2023 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/business/media/fox-news-dominion-rupert-murdoch.html | access-date=February 28, 2023}}</ref> In February 2023, Fox's internal communications were released, showing that its presenters and senior executives privately doubted Donald Trump's claims of a stolen election.<ref name=Crazy>{{cite news |title=Fox Stars Privately Expressed Disbelief About Election Fraud Claims. 'Crazy Stuff.' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/business/media/fox-dominion-lawsuit.html |work=The New York TImes |date=February 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230419071342/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/business/media/fox-dominion-lawsuit.html |archive-date=April 19, 2023 |first1=Jeremy |last1=Peters |first2=Katie |last2=Robertson}}</ref> Chairman Rupert Murdoch once described Trump's voter fraud claims as "really crazy stuff", and also said that Trump advisers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell's television appearances were "terrible stuff damaging everybody".<ref name=Crazy/> One November 2020 exchange showed Tucker Carlson accusing Powell of "lying ... I caught her. It's insane", with Laura Ingraham responding that "Sidney is a complete nut. No one will work with her. Ditto with Rudy".<ref name=Crazy/> In another exchange that month, Carlson called for Fox journalist Jacqui Heinrich to be "fired" because she fact-checked Trump and said that there was no evidence of voter fraud from Dominion.<ref name=Crazy/> Carlson said that Heinrich's actions "needs to stop immediately, like tonight. It's measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down", while Heinrich deleted the fact-check the next morning.<ref name=Crazy/> In March 2023, more of Fox's internal communications were released.<ref name=Levine>{{Cite news |last=Levine |first=Sam |date=March 29, 2023 |title=Angry Fox News chief said fact-checks of Trump's election lies 'bad for business' |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/mar/29/fox-news-trump-fact-check-election-lies-dominion |access-date=March 31, 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> One November 2020 communication showed Fox CEO Suzanne Scott criticizing fact-checking, stating that she cannot "keep defending these reporters who don't understand our viewers and how to handle stories ... The audience feels like we crapped on" them, and Fox was losing their audience's "trust and belief" in them.<ref name=Levine/> Another December 2020 communication showed Scott responding to Fox presenter Eric Shawn's fact-checking of Donald Trump's false 2020 election claims by demanding that the fact-checking "has to stop now ... This is bad business ... The audience is furious."<ref name=Levine/> On March 31, 2023, Delaware Superior Court judge Eric Davis ruled in a [[summary judgment]] that it "is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true" and ordered for the case to go to trial.<ref name=crystal>{{cite news |title=Fox News Suffers Major Setback in Its Defamation Case |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/31/business/fox-dominion-defamation-case.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230401051148/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/31/business/fox-dominion-defamation-case.html |archive-date=April 1, 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=March 31, 2023|first1=Jeremy |last1=Peters| first2=Katie |last2=Robertson}}</ref> On April 18, 2023, Fox News reached a settlement with Dominion just before the trial started, concluding the lawsuit; Fox agreed to pay Dominion $787.5 million, and further stated: "We acknowledge the Court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false".<ref name=787m>{{cite news |title=Fox to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million to settle election defamation lawsuit |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/18/fox-news-and-dominion-settle-election-defamation-lawsuit-judge-says.html |access-date=April 19, 2023 |first1=Dan |last1=Mangan |first2=Kevin |last2=Breuninger |first3=Lillian |last3=Rizzo |work=[[CNBC]] |date=April 18, 2023}}</ref> ===Compulsory reductions in meat consumption=== In April 2021,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/kudlow-bidens-climate-plan-means-no-meat-for-the-4th-of-july-have-grilled-brussel-sprouts-instead|title=Kudlow: Biden's Green New Deal means no meat for the 4th of July, have grilled Brussels sprouts instead|date=April 23, 2021|website=Fox Business|access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref> at least five Fox News and Fox Business personalities amplified a story published by the ''[[Daily Mail]]'', a British tabloid, that incorrectly linked a university study to President Joe Biden's climate change agenda, to falsely assert that Americans would be compelled to dramatically reduce their meat consumption to mitigate [[greenhouse gas emissions]] caused by [[flatulence]]. Fox News aired a graphic detailing the supposed compulsory reductions, falsely indicating the information came from the [[United States Department of Agriculture|Agriculture Department]], which numerous Republican politicians and commentators tweeted. Fox News anchor [[John Roberts (journalist)|John Roberts]] reported to "say goodbye to your burgers if you want to sign up to the Biden climate agenda." Days later, Roberts acknowledged on air that the story was false.<ref>{{cite web|last=Dale|first=Daniel|author-link=Daniel Dale|date=April 26, 2021|title=Fact check: No, Biden is not trying to force Americans to eat less red meat|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/26/politics/fact-check-biden-climate-plan-red-meat-hamburger/index.html|access-date=May 8, 2021|publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/4/26/22403599/biden-red-meat-ban-burger-kudlow|title=Biden's fake burger ban and the rising culture war over meat|first=Zack|last=Beauchamp|date=April 26, 2021|website=Vox|access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/04/27/fact-check-biden-climate-plan-doesnt-require-us-stop-eating-meat/7385050002/|title=Fact check: False claim ties Biden's climate plan to reducing meat consumption|first=Chiara|last=Vercellone|date=April 27, 2021|website=USA Today|access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref> ===Report that Biden administration was building Trump wall=== According to analysis by Media Matters, on May 12, 2021, Fox News reported on its website: "Biden resumes [[Trump wall|border wall]] construction after promising to halt it". Correspondent Bill Melugin then appeared on ''[[Special Report with Bret Baier]]'' to report "the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] is actually going to be restarting border wall construction down in the Rio Grande Valley" after "a lot of blowback and pressure from local residents and local politicians." After the Corps of Engineers tweeted a clarification, Melugin deleted a tweet about the story and tweeted an "update" clarifying that a levee wall was being constructed to mitigate damage to flood control systems caused by uncompleted wall construction, and the website story headline was changed to "Biden administration to resume border wall levee construction as crisis worsens." Later on ''Fox News Primetime'', host [[Brian Kilmeade]] briefly noted the levee but commented to former Trump advisor [[Stephen Miller (political advisor)|Stephen Miller]]: "They're going to restart building the wall again, Stephen." Fox News host [[Sean Hannity]] later broadcast the original Melugin story without any mention of the levee.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-runs-false-story-biden-administration-was-building-trumps-border-wall-its|title=Fox News runs false story that Biden administration was building Trump's border wall. It's actually a repair job on flood control systems.|first=Eric|last=Kleefeld|website=Media Matters for America|date=May 13, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/resilience/refugees/553336-biden-administration-resumes-repairing-wall-on-southern/|title=Biden administration resumes repairing wall on southern border to prevent 'catastrophic flooding'|first=Christian|last=Spencer|date=May 13, 2021|website=The Hill}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 18, 2021 |title=Rio Grande levee repairs not a resumption of Trump border wall |url=https://factcheck.afp.com/rio-grande-levee-repairs-not-resumption-trump-border-wall |access-date=August 23, 2022 |website=AFP Fact Check |language=en}}</ref> {{Anchor|Criticism and controversies}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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