Fox News host Howard Kurtz suggested all media outlets were to blame after his network falsely reported that a crash on a border bridge in New York was terrorism.
November 27, 2023

Fox News host Howard Kurtz suggested all media outlets were to blame after his network falsely reported that a crash on a border bridge in New York was terrorism.

On his Sunday Media Buzz program, Kurtz led off his criticism of the coverage with clips from MSNBC and CNN. He also played two clips from the Fox News coverage of the "terror attack" on the Rainbow Bridge last week.

"The cable news networks went wall to wall when a car exploded on a bridge on the New York side of Niagara Falls, and the speculation began," Kurtz said. "Is this the classic example of a media rush to judgment?"

Kurtz, however, failed to note that only Fox News reported that the crash was a "terror attack" and then quietly walked back the claim hours later.

"You have to walk it back, not just the reporter saying something, but you also have to walk it back in public and just as loudly as you had the initial coverage," Fox News contributor Laura Fink said without naming her network. "And I don't think that that was done in this instance, and I think that leads to terrible things like conspiracy theories and elected leaders being the mouthpiece of inaccurate information."

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon