On this episode of Oh, the Irony!…
Ex-Fox News host Gretchen Carlson on Wednesday called her former employer a “threat to American democracy” during an appearance on… wait for it… CNN, aka The Most Trusted Name in News™.
Carlson happily sniped at Fox over its settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.
In a segment on Anderson Cooper 360 [where else?], Carlson asserted that Rupert Murdoch & Co. knew Fox hosts were lying about the 2020 presidential elections results, but did so out of fear of losing viewers — and money, of course.
Cooper gleefully kicked off the festivities:
When you saw some of those documents that, through discovery, Dominion got, in which what folks were saying on air and what they were saying privately in text messages to each other.
Did that — the difference between what was being said and what they were actually believing, Tucker Carlson, saying he hated Donald Trump and clearly not saying that on air — did that surprise you?
Now look, I think that even Rupert Murdoch said that it was all about making sure that they were in the green and keeping things, you know, making money for them?
I’m not a fan of whataboutism —in fact, I loathe it (along with hypocrisy) — but Anderson Cooper and CNN accusing anyone or any network of intentionally lying or misleading the public is rich as hell, from the 2016 Russian “collusion” hoax to the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic to Hunter Biden’s laptop, and more.
Nonetheless, Carlson promptly proceeded to go off on “the evolution” of Fox News.
No. Look, I think that even Rupert Murdoch said it was all about making sure they were in the green and keeping things making money for them. I think it’s a travesty because I think it’s actually a threat to American democracy to promote that kind of misinformation.
Let me be clear. There is a huge difference between espousing conservative viewpoints and having an intellectual conversation between conservatives and liberals, which I think is very important.
There’s a huge difference between that and telling lies to the American public, and that’s where we have now become in the evolution of Fox News, at least with regard to the 2020 election and January 6.
I won’t waste my time commenting on the 2020 election results or Fox News election night coverage and subsequent follow-up, but I will say this: Anyone who denies that Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, former Foxer Lou Dobbs, and to a slightly lesser extent, Tucker Carlson, have been in the tank for Donald Trump from the outset has either been living in a cave for 6-7 years, is delusional, or is outright lying.
And as I suggested, (see: “whataboutism”), CNN, MSNBC, and other left-wing outlets have likewise been in the tank for Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and even mentally-declining Joe Biden, for years, so Anderson Cooper having the cojones to attack Fox News for being less than honest is laughable at best.
This is nothing more than theater, played by a disgruntled former Fox host and a disingenuous CNN host.
Carlson’s snarky, holier-than-thou attitude was “cute,” don’t you think?
As my colleague Susie Moore reported, the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit against Fox News was settled out of court on Tuesday before the trial began, just hours after jury selection was completed, with Fox agreeing to pay Dominion $787.5 million in damages.
John Poulous, CEO of Dominion Voting Systems CEO, addressed the media outside the courthouse, pointedly saying:
Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage … Nothing can ever make up for that.
And that was that.
Dominion Voting Systems CEO John Poulos after the $787.5 million settlement with Fox News:
“Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage … Nothing can ever make up for that.” pic.twitter.com/IpxVAucpbO
— The Recount (@therecount) April 18, 2023
Anyway, the question is the whether the punditry of Fox News hosts about the results of the 2020 presidential election was really a “threat to American democracy” — or not? In my not-so-humble opinion, of course, it wasn’t — no more than the ill-advised January 6 riot was an “insurrection.”
The Bottom Line
While political commentators are not journalists in the sense of reporting factual news, I’m reminded of the late Daniel Patrick Moyhnihan’s admonition, which I paraphrase: We’re entitled to our own opinions but we’re not entitled to our own facts.
When political commentators present their opinions as facts — or damn close — it matters. Words matter. This reality is not only true for Fox News hosts, but for the left-wing loons of CNN and MSNBC, as well.
Thing is, moving forward, will CNN and MSNBC be held to the same standard? Don’t hold your breath.
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