Annual reviews are often routine exercises that involve collecting a few thematically aligned events and presenting them in an ordered list to remind people of what went down in the previous twelve months. However, for Fox News it just isn’t that simple. There are so many examples of blatant dishonesty, cringe-worthy ignorance, and shameless biases that any list would be too long for anyone to wade through.
Consequently, this year News Corpse is limiting the 2015 retrospective to a few instances that were notable for how embarrassing they are – or would be to a network that had the capacity for shame. And even this list is not meant to be comprehensive, but it will give a taste of the journalistic malpractice and general noxious mismanagement of the news as practiced by Fox – a network that has the unique distinction of having started the year with a huuuge majority of its ratings on PolitiFact (61%) deemed “Mostly False, False,” or “Pants On Fire.”
1) French TV: Laughing At The Credibility Of The Fox News Clowns And #FoxNewsFacts
Fox News hosted Steven Emerson, an alleged terrorism expert, who claimed that the entire city of Birmingham, England was occupied by radical Muslims and was inaccessible to anyone else. His remarks were widely ridiculed, including by David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, who called Emerson an “idiot.” Emerson later recanted and apologized for his “terrible error.” But Fox wasn’t done embarrassing itself with false tales of horror. Click the link above to see the hilarious video.
2) High Schoolers Scorch Bill O’Reilly/Fox News For Lack Of Journalistic Ethics
Fox News has been proven repeatedly to be a purveyor of disinformation and outright lies presented as facts. Knowledgeable observers long ago ceased to take their reporting seriously. However, it’s one thing to be called out for shoddy journalism by experienced media analysts and news professionals. But when a high school class can demolish the highest rated cable “news” network with ease, the folks responsible should reconsider their career choices.
3) Bill O’Reilly’s Cavalcade Of Lies: A Handy Collection Of The Damage – So Far
After NBC suspended Brian Williams for six months for a single incident of embellishing his experiences in Iraq, it seems like a fair and balanced review of O’Reilly’s behavior would net him a suspension of two or three years. Of course, Fox News does not generally hold itself to the standards of journalistic ethics to which real news enterprises adhere. Nevertheless, O’Reilly and Fox News should not be allowed to sweep these fibs under the floorboards.
4) Watch John Oliver Bust Fox News For Falsifying Refugee Video
Fox News mounted a relentless campaign to slander Syrian and Iraqi refugees as terrorists seeking to infiltrate Europe and the U.S. This propaganda blitz is based on nothing but invented tales of horror and racist speculation. But apparently those attempts to deceive their pre-rattled viewers were not sufficiently frightening. Consequently, Fox News had to manufacture “evidence” of the doom that awaits any nation that shows empathy for the suffering refugees. So they enhanced their fictional narrative with video that was completely unrelated to the story. And John Oliver caught them red-handed.
5) Fox News Propagandist Caught And Arrested, Charged With Fraud
Wayne Simmons has been a frequent guest on Fox News for many years, providing what they said was expert analysis of intelligence and military issues from an experienced professional. Fox often relied on his commentary to inform their audience about serious national security issues as they arose in the news. But as it turns out, Simmons had lied on his resume to the federal government when seeking employment and contracts, and now he is under indictment for “major fraud against the United States, wire fraud, and making false statements to the government.”
6) After Falling For Hoax News Site, Sean Hannity Takes On PolitiFact’s ‘Stupidity’
You really have to give the wingnut media credit for standing firm in the face of flagrant ridicule. On Sean Hannity’s Fox News program last week he cited a statistic that was not only wildly implausible, it was sourced to an Internet website that was obviously satirical. The hoax website, Real News Right Now, also prominently displayed plainly absurd (and humorous) articles like “Starbucks Opens Five Stores in Jordan’s 2nd Largest Refugee Camp,” and “Trump: I Would Have Prevented the Asteroid From Killing the Dinosaurs.” The author of these articles is R. Hobbus J.D, who the website says is the recipient of the Oscar Mayer Award for Journalistic Excellence. And it was from this source that Hannity based his reporting.
7) Foul-Mouthed Fox News Obama-Hater Is Given Time-Out By Puppet/Anchor
The seething hatred of President Obama by Fox News came gushing out this morning by one of the network’s most notorious hatchet men. Lt. Col Ralph Peters (whose name translates to “vomiting penises” in Slanglish) appeared on Stuart Varney’s Fox Business program to discuss/bash Obama’s Oval Office speech on terrorism. Peters was virtually spitting teeth as he was unable to control his most primitive tendencies.
8) Fox Nation Commenter Arrested For Making Terrorist Threats
Anyone who has watched Fox News long enough is aware that the alleged “news” network engages in a relentless stream of hate speech and incendiary rhetoric that has the potential to incite actual violence. Indeed, there have been violent incidents already that are directly attributable to Fox News. Now there has been an arrest in Washington state of a man, Scott Anthony Orton, who has been posting terrorist threats aimed at an organization formerly associated with Planned Parenthood.
How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.
And there you have it. A nauseating, albeit incomplete, list of some of the most embarrassing moments on Fox News in 2015. This collection will serve as a reminder of the past year as well as a warning for the year to come. 2016 is an election year with what may be the most embarrassing candidate either party has produced in modern times. Donald Trump has already spewed a fountain of lies which News Corpse is compiling in the Donald Trump Bullshitopedia. So next year’s retrospective will have plenty of material from which to choose.
