Fox News experienced an on-air SNAFU on Monday when the network posted a graphic that showed just how little audiences trust it compared to other cable news networks. Not too surprisingly, the graphic was taken down. According to Fox News host Howard Kurtz, the graphic, which aired during his show Media Buzz, was removed because it was, wait for it...posted at the wrong time. Boy, please.
Apparently, Kurtz had been discussing a Monmouth University poll about fake news in the media. However, the graphic displayed the results from another question about the trustworthiness of cable news networks, one where Fox ranked last.
The Associated Press reported the embarrassing mix-up, explaining that the graphic was removed but not that it was later used again. Kurtz took to Facebook to clear things up in a statement—the irony of trying to broadcast the truth on a platform embroiled in a data scandal is not lost on me. In the statement, entitled “A JOURNALISTIC DISTORTION” (caps not mine), Kurtz called out the AP for “a story that utterly distorts what [had] happened” on his show.
Kurtz went on to explain, “The AP reported my request to take down the graphic and ended the story there, creating a false impression by not mentioning that I called for the very same graphic shortly afterward.” The AP later updated their story, and Kurtz updated his statement as well, saying, “The AP has now run a correction, which I appreciate. Though it's odd that the correction indicated I SAID the poll graphic ran moments later, as if it's a claim. It's a verifiable fact. There's video!”
Prior to updating, Kurtzz had also stated he “felt viewers deserved all the facts. That’s more than I can say for the AP, which owes me a correction.” Excuse me, but, if viewers deserve the facts, maybe they shouldn’t be watching Fox at all in the first place.
