Rush To Judgment: Fox News On Chattanooga Terrorism vs. Charleston Racism

On Thursday morning a shooting occurred at a military facility in Chattanooga, TN. News of the tragic event was quickly broadcast by most major news networks even while next to nothing was known about the shooter or the victims. Nevertheless, Fox News almost immediately began speculating about the “likelihood” that the shooter was Muslim and the motivation was an ISIS-related jihad. This was even before the shooter’s name was released.

The eagerness with which Fox News sought to portray this event as a terrorist act, prior to having any evidence of it, is typical of their hysteria-driven reporting. Radical Islamic assassins make for better ratings than run-of-the-mill mass murders. Plus, Fox’s audience is primed to perk up their ears at the first mention of domestic terror. They have been well trained by Fox to respond with frenzied panic whenever such threats are reported, whether or not they are true.

In this case, it appears that the perpetrator may actually have been motivated by his devotion to a perverse brand of Islam. But that doesn’t justify Fox’s rush to judgment before they had any factual basis for the accusation. On prior occasions Fox has notoriously hyped fake threats to the American people like the time they warned that the Taliban were training Monkey Mercenaries. Or the time they falsely reported that a dozen missing Libyan planes were being prepared for 9/11 style attacks. Or the most dastardly plot of all: Boob Bombs.

The tendency of Fox News flying off the handle is thus not particularly surprising. However, it is an indication of the repulsive zeal they have for fear mongering so long as it affirms their long-held biases. It is notable that they did not rush to judgment following the murder of nine African-Americans in Charleston, SC, by a Confederate flag waving racist. Well, actually they did rush to judgment, but only to advance the delusional theory that the murders were aimed at persecuted Christians. It took several days before Fox News dropped the “Attack on Faith” message and admitted that the perpetrator was motivated by his hatred and fear of African-Americans.

Fox News

These otherwise unrelated events tell us a lot about how Fox News slants their coverage. Any opportunity to slander Muslims is embraced in a matter of minutes. But if they have to reluctantly concede that there are still vile racists at large, Fox will stall for as long as possible. Furthermore, any terrorist activity will be exploited to intensify their anti-Muslim bigotry and to bash President Obama. But evidence of overt racism will be dismissed while they defend the blatant icons of racism like the Confederate flag. This is an all-too-predictable pattern at Fox News.

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2 thoughts on “Rush To Judgment: Fox News On Chattanooga Terrorism vs. Charleston Racism

  1. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day…

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