Anatomy Of A Fox News Lie

If you’ve ever wondered about the course of the obvious prevarications that eventually wind up on Fox News, a fascinating example of this process was revealed recently in an affair that involved a Montana congressman and a collection of disreputable players.

In early June, Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT), currently the GOP candidate for the senate, accused the Environmental Protection Agency of conducting spy operations with unmanned drones over Montana farmland. He sent the EPA a letter demanding that the practice be stopped, saying…

“The Obama Administration has, once again, stepped way over the line. First they wanted to expand their authority to regulate water, and now they want to use air drones to spy on American citizens. Enough is enough.”

The only problem with Rehberg’s complaint was that there was no truth to it whatsoever. He later admitted that he was wrong, but somehow managed to blame the Obama administration for his mistake. His spokesman issued this statement:

“The Obama Administration rarely reveals its secretive plans to anyone but its closest allies. Since Denny doesn’t vote with the President 95 percent of the time, he must often rely on news reports and constituent input.”

See? If the Obama administration had revealed its secret plan to not do something they would later be accused of doing, there wouldn’t have been any problem. Here is a timeline of the news reports Rehberg cited. Feel free to follow along at home…

  • One of the first references to the non-existent drones came from radio conspiracy theorist and 9/11 Truther, Alex Jones.
  • The next day the New American, a publication of the uber-rightist John Birch Society, posted their own version of the hoax.
  • On June 6, the story was picked up by The Daily Caller, which is run by Fox News contributer Tucker Carlson.
  • That was followed by a piece in Investors Business Daily.
  • And finally, the story bubbles up on Fox News, where it is subjected to even more hyperbole courtesy of host Megyn Kelly.

Megyn Kelly

Kelly: “Even an American terrorist, an American al-Qaida, was killed by a drone. So now you’re in the Midwest, and you know you’re not a terrorist, but nonetheless, you gotta get a little squeamish when you see a drone going overhead.”

The progression of lies through the conservative media is a peculiar and dangerous phenomenon. And the way it is exploited by Fox News demonstrates their overt aversion to factual journalism and objective reporting. They exist for only one purpose: To advance the interests of the Republican Party, conservative extremists, and their wealthy benefactors. They will employ any information and tactics to achieve their ends, no matter how contemptible and illegitimate.

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2 thoughts on “Anatomy Of A Fox News Lie

  1. I’m not even sure how they would ‘spy on farmers’ but I’m also not sure how that would be illegal

  2. It’s hard to come to terms with the fact that media, especially conservative media, perpetuate fear and a feeling of inevitable defeat of one’s liberty at the hands of the government. It’s also sad to see that people trust those feelings with all the resources available to us to find the truth.

    If you don’t fear for you’re life and think that it’ll all come crashing down at the president’s hands then you’re not a true conservative. Time to talk about true conservative litmus tests. Today with AG Holder is case and point. Maddow said it quite well when she pointed this all out tonight. If there is no evidence, then that’s evidence a plenty. Conspiracy theorist or bust for republicans now. Voter fraud, gun control, anti-business, class warfare, amnesty, and more. Reason and logic have left the GOP, and the scary part is they don’t want it back.

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