press – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Fox News Coverage is Dangerous

David Posnett — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 15:53:32 +0000

Fox News coronavirus coverage looks eerily similar to its climate crisis coverage — and is just as dangerous

There are similarities between the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis: The public health and economic threat, if left unaddressed, will be catastrophic and worldwide; immediate action from leaders who listen to those most knowledgeable about the issue is paramount; communication to the public on the scope of the emergency and actions necessary to mitigate its threat should be facilitated by trustworthy news sources; and Fox News has played an active role in misleading and misinforming its viewers about both.

In the face of the emerging coronavirus pandemic, Fox News has downplayed the severity of the coronavirus, promoted misinformation and deployed other tactics to distract from, and attempt to discredit, the urgency of the crisis and the legitimacy of those issuing warnings — just as it’s done for years when reporting on the climate crisis.
Tactic 1: Downplay the crisis

A hallmark of Fox News climate crisis coverage is dismissing the urgency of the threat, if not outright denying it, and labeling advocates for climate action as hysterical and alarmists, as I explained in a 2019 report for Public Citizen. Fox News opinion personalities and so-called news programs have used this same approach in an effort to downplay the seriousness of the coronavirus. Here are just a few examples:

On March 9, Sean Hannity on his eponymous Fox News show referred to the public health crisis facing this country as a “hoax” and claimed that “they’re scaring the living hell out of people.”

On March 8, Fox News’ Pete Hegseth stated, during a segment on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s state of emergency declaration, “I feel like the more I learn about this, the less there is to worry about.”

On February 29, the Fox & Friends hosts rallied around President Donald Trump’s claim that the coronavirus threat is a “hoax.”

On February 28, Fox anchor Harris Faulkner suggested criticizing the administration’s response to coronavirus is “feeding hysteria.”
Tactic 2: Traffic in dangerous misinformation

Climate deniers and the well-debunked misinformation they spread have made a home at Fox News. Amid this recent national crisis, the network has distributed dangerous misinformation about the severity of the coronavirus threat to its viewers, the majority of whom are among the most vulnerable to and at risk. Here are some of the most egregious examples:

On March 15, Fox News aired dangerous misinformation from Steven Hotze, a disreputable doctor who has a history of pushing “methods [that] are not supported by science and are potentially harmful” and sells bogus colloidal silver. Hotze dismissed concerns about the coronavirus, saying that “everybody has gone totally crazy about it” and recommending that people should “conduct your life normally.” The segments were part of Fox’s purported “news” division programming.

On March 6, Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel appeared on Fox News’ Hannity and told the host the “worst case scenario” for coronavirus is “it could be the flu.” The appearance on Hannity was one of at least 47 weekday appearances Siegel made to discuss the outbreak in the weeks leading up to the March 13 national emergency declaration.

In fact, Hotze and Seigel are among a handful of so-called medical experts who have appeared across the network’s programs to misinform viewers and dismiss the seriousness of the unfolding public health crisis.
Tactic 3: Finger-point and table-turn

Deflection is a signature move of Fox News anchors looking to pivot away from the facts of a story or change the trajectory of its most obvious conclusion. One of the more common examples of this appearing in the network’s climate coverage is a focus on an individual’s actions to deflect away from the evidence that supports their position on climate. For example, Fox News hosts often call out the hypocrisy of climate advocates who use air travel.

In the face of clear mismanagement of the coronavirus outbreak by Trump, Fox News has cast around for someone else to blame and landed on its go-to fake villains: Democrats and reporters.

Media Matters has documented how Fox personalities lashed out at journalists for their coverage of coronavirus and at Democrats for their criticism of the administration.

On March 16, Laura Ingraham went so far as to say in defense of Trump, “The media, some have been enjoying this moment that has brought great inconvenience, disruption and suffering to American workers and families, let alone all the health challenges, the deaths and the infection rate — because some people think it’s Trump’s downfall, and they are cheering that on as they did during Mueller and all these other crises.”

On March 2, Sean Hannity got particularly creative in his attempt to deflect from Trump’s handling of the public health crisis by lying about President Obama’s 2009 “swine flu” response.
Tactic 4: Attack science

The backbone of most climate disinformation is a feigned or real mistrust of science and scientific evidence. It is from this place that climate science, scientists, and the institution where they work are attacked by those whose narratives, worldviews, or values they inconvenience, including Fox News.

The spread of the coronavirus has put our experts in the scientific community in the national spotlight as we rightfully turn to them for information and sound recommendations. It has also triggered one of Fox News’ most oft-employed attacks on the scientific community: They are politicized and therefore compromised.

On the March 6 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight, Fox’s Dr. Marc Siegel claims coronavirus concerns are being intentionally overblown to hurt Trump politically by dismissing the World Health Organization as “overly political” and “incompetent.”

On the March 4 edition of The Ingraham Angle, host Laura Ingraham’s guest attempted to discredit the Center for Disease Control by calling it a “highly politicized organization.”
Tactic 5: Legitimize and spread conspiracy theories

The most notorious climate change conspiracy theory — originating from then-future President Trump — is that it is a hoax “created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” Another commonly cited conspiracy theory is that climate scientists distort findings or tamper with evidence for financial gain. This claim, which Fox has peddled, was the basis for the manufactured scandal “Climategate,” which Fox News seized on and ferociously promoted.

As the lethal outbreak of coronavirus spread around the world and the U.S. government warned that it would spread within the United States, Fox News was among the right-wing media outlets spreading conspiracy theories. That included one of the most prominent theories, which claims that coronavirus was manufactured and leaked by the Chinese government, and one of the most racist claims, that it was a r esult of people consuming animals alive.

On February 10, Fox News prime-time host Tucker Carlson speculated about the unsubstantiated bioweapon theory, asking his guest whether COVID-19 is “not a naturally occurring virus” or was “somehow created by the Chinese government.” His theory was debunked by his guest Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a medical director of a chain of urgent care clinics.

Even though this theory has been widely debunked (even on air during a Fox program), on February 25, Fox Business host Lou Dobbs claimed that “we don’t know yet whether or not this was an engineered virus” and said that there is “a research lab some 300 yards from the epicenter of this outbreak.”

Carlson, on his January 23 show, also blamed the emergence of the virus on Chinese culture, advancing the unproven theory that it was a result of people consuming animals “alive.”

While many of the tactics Fox News has used to misinform and mislead its views about the climate crisis and the coronavirus outbreak are the same, its goals are different. As applied to the climate crisis, Fox wields these tactics in an attempt to blunt aggressive climate action. As applied to the coronavirus, Fox has deployed them to shield Trump from political backlash. Either way, these tactics are shameful and dangerous — and their impact is not easily corrected.

This video is amusing:

Zeldin’s ‘Kick Out’ Rally

David Posnett — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 14:16:25 +0000

After all, Zeldin’s rally wasn’t a ‘Kick Off’ but in stead, a ‘Kick Out’ rally. Who better to comment as Karl Grossman, in the Riverhead Local:

https://riverheadlocal.com/2018/07/29/assault-on-the-press-hits-close-to-home/

Karl Grossman

Karl is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books. Karl lives in Sag Harbor. Email Karl

He writes:

“It was an unprecedented incident in Suffolk County history — two journalists were kicked out of a political rally. It happened last month at a “kickoff” rally for Congressman Lee Zeldin whose district includes Riverhead and the other five East End towns, all of Brookhaven, a slice of Islip and most of Smithtown.

As Pat Biancaniello, editor of Smithtown Matters, one of the journalists kicked out of the rally, wrote in an editorial: “Last night I was ejected from the Lee Zeldin kick-off rally which I was invited to, without cause. Yes, I was invited to attend the rally by the Zeldin campaign and was credentialed by the Zeldin campaign. Upon arrival I was told to go anywhere I wanted to take photos, again by the Zeldin campaign. I stood in the same spot, with my credentials plainly in sight, for roughly an hour and a half before, out of the blue, I was told to leave without an explanation.”

Biancaniello continued: “I was forced to climb over a rope to get to the path leading to a door—(one woman sneered and said ‘bye bye’ as I walked past). Once out the door and in a backyard area, I was mocked by a group of people. A man upset that I was taking photos smacked my camera and I was told by security to leave the Elks Club premises. All the while I was wearing the press badge supplied by the Zeldin campaign and telling everyone I was an invited press person.”

As David Ambro, managing editor of The Smithtown News, wrote in an article: “Without provocation, without just cause, and without a word of explanation, the campaign staff of Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) threw me and a fellow journalist out of his campaign kickoff at the Elks Club on Edgewood Avenue in Smithtown Thursday, June 28. It was the first time in my 40-year career as a journalist that I have ever been thrown out of anything. I didn’t like it.”

“I saw a tweet that said we had been thrown out of a ‘white supremacist fest,’” Ambro went on, “a reference, I suppose, to one of the Zeldin-rally speakers, Sebastian Gorka, who Democrats charge is a ‘Nazi sympathizer.’ I’ve covered a white supremacist rally before — a cross-burning during a brief Suffolk uprising of the KKK in 1998 — and that’s not what this was. I will say, though, that being thrown out was arbitrary and capricious, overbearing and intimidating.”

Ambro declared: “It put us in a precarious situation, singled out in a crowd that was revved up to a fevered pitch by the rhetoric of the speakers and at a time when the president they idolize has declared the media to be ‘an enemy of the people.’ And, in the aftermath, the response by Rep. Zeldin and his campaign was in bad taste.”

The Press Club of Long Island issued a statement last week on what happened in which its board of directors stated: “When reached by the Press Club, Zeldin said in an email: ‘As Americans, we cherish our Constitution, freedoms and liberties, and that includes our sacred First Amendment protecting freedom of the press.’”

“The press,” said PCLI, a chapter (one of the biggest) of the national Society of Professional Journalists, “serves an important role to keep Americans informed of facts that allow us to form our own independent judgement on matters before our community, nation and world. The congressman, who was reportedly not present when the journalists were removed, said Biancaniello and Ambro were confused as protesters, and he invited them back to his events.”

PCLI continued: “While we appreciate Zeldin’s apology and strong statement on the press, we do not believe Biancaniello and Ambro should have been removed from the event in the first place. We see this most recent incident as part of a larger pattern of mistreatment of the press. The Trump administration set the stage in February 2017 when then White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer excluded The New York Times, CNN, Politico, The Los Angeles Times and BuzzFeed from a press briefing. Around the same time, President Trump began calling the press the ‘enemy of the people.’ It was a phrase often used in the past by communist dictators to refer to dissidents, or political opponents. Trump has repeatedly employed the term to speak of hard-working journalists simply doing their jobs…As a nation, we must afford journalists the protections that we have from the time of our founding, thus allowing them to reveal important truths.”

I am proud that the Press Club of Long Island reacted quickly and strongly to what happened — and proud of the two Suffolk journalists who were put upon.

I founded PCLI in 1974. I was sitting at my desk at the daily Long Island Press reading a story about a reporter jailed for not divulging a source. My recollection is that this occurred in Maryland. I arranged for a gathering of Long Island journalists to form an organization to challenge this kind of thing. At the meeting I was elected president of the club.

Through the years PCLI has taken on various government officials on Long Island for not complying with the Freedom of Information Law and similar behavior — but journalists getting kicked out of a political rally here, this is new — and intolerable. The assault on the media that is underway today in the U.S., led by Donald Trump, is an attack on the U.S. democratic process. It is not acceptable in the U.S.— and on Long Island.”

Press Ejected at Zeldin Kickoff Event!

David Posnett — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 13:30:30 +0000

Editorial – Getting Ejected At Zeldin Kick-Off from Smithtown Matters

I am at a loss for words. Last night I was ejected from the Lee Zeldin kick-off rally, which I WAS INVITED TO, without cause. Yes, I was invited to attend the rally by the Zeldin Campaign and was credentialed by the Zeldin Campaign. Upon arrival I was told to go anywhere I wanted to take photos, again by the Zeldin campaign. I stood in the same spot, with my credentials plainly in sight, for roughly an hour and a half before, out of the blue, I was told to leave… without an explanation. I was forced to climb over a rope to get to the path leading to a door (one woman sneered and said “bye bye” as I walked past). Once out the door and in a back yard area, I was mocked by a group of people. A man upset that I was taking photos smacked my camera and I was told by security to leave the Elks Club premises. All while I was wearing the press badge supplied by the Zeldin campaign and telling everyone I was an invited press person.

I am confident that my behavior was professional. This was not a ‘question and answer’ press event. The press was there as observers. I took photos, and for approximately one and a half hours I listened to guest speakers talk about Lee Zeldin and their impression of his work ethic, his belief in America and his relationship with Donald Trump. This was a rally for supporters meant to energize, create positive thoughts and a “can do” attitude about this candidate.

Here’s what the speakers didn’t say, and you should now know about Lee Zeldin. He, through his staff, will discriminate, try to embarrass, and arbitrarily have the invited press removed without benefit of an explanation and without cause. Another thing the speakers didn’t mention about Lee Zeldin was that his love of country falls short of the 1st Amendment rights of free speech or free press. Was the Press being invited to cover his event and then being ejected, (David Ambro of The Smithtown News was also ejected), for the purpose of showing his disregard for the work journalists do? Was it intended as a preemptive strike against future work? This behavior was an attempt to taint the belief in journalist objectivity – after all, he can say that he had to have the Press ejected. Imagine a news article written about Lee Zeldin now… imagine how the story is perceived by someone who learns that the writer was thrown out of his kick-off rally. Will the writer be seen as a fair source of information?

These are challenging times. Elected officials are taking unique steps to quiet the voices of those who challenge or question them. For our democracy to flourish a strong press is necessary. I will continue to do all I can to maintain a high ethical standard and I call on you to push back on abuses like this.

Pat Biancaniello and this is Smithtown Matters

Friday, June 29, 2018 at 12:44PM

Response from Perry Gershon:

June 29 at 9:30 PM ·

Free press is a quintessential part of our democracy. That’s why I was shocked to hear the reports of a credentialed local journalist being kicked out of Zeldin‘s fundaiser in Smithtown last night. It appears Lee Zeldin is doing everything he can to emulate President Trump’s demonization of the press. Is this tactic now going to be a part of Zeldin’s playbook?

The voters of NY01 deserve a campaign that focuses on the issues that matter to Long Islanders – healthcare, the environment, gun safety and jobs. The role of the Press needs to be respected for this discussion to take place. Here is the link to the Editorial from Smithtown Matters: http://www.smithtownmatters.com/…/editorial-getting-ejected…d

And then there is this from the Southern Poverty Law Center:

Milo Yiannopoulos, the far-right provocateur, tells reporters he hopes angry conservatives start assassinating them, and the alt-right ’14/88ers’ love the idea.*

Apparently, Milo Yiannopoulos didn’t get the memo about the need for civility in our discourse.

“I can’t wait for the vigilante squads to start gunning journalists down on sight,” the far-right provocateur texted a reporter for the New York Observer this week. When the reporter inquired further, Yiannopoulos explained that he had simply issued his “standard response to a request for a comment.”

Lee Zeldin invites these guys as the honor guests to his fund raisers. Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka. Perhaps Milo Yiannopoulos will be next?

Does it feel like 1933? Yet?

*if you are wondering (like I was) what 88ers are, 88 stands for HH (or Heil Hitler), H being the 8th letter in the alphabet.

press – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Fox News Coverage is Dangerous

Fox News coronavirus coverage looks eerily similar to its climate crisis coverage — and is just as dangerous

Tactic 1: Downplay the crisis

Tactic 2: Traffic in dangerous misinformation

Tactic 3: Finger-point and table-turn

Tactic 4: Attack science

Tactic 5: Legitimize and spread conspiracy theories

Zeldin’s ‘Kick Out’ Rally

Press Ejected at Zeldin Kickoff Event!