Fox News, Still a Danger to Public Health
The coronavirus has struck virtually every age group throughout the world, but it has proven more lethal to older people. Those aged 60 and older have accounted for the majority of deaths in the United States, and medical experts have warned the public for weeks of the pandemic’s intensifying danger. Elderly Americans also are the average cable-news viewers. And of the networks commonly included in that category, Fox News Channel remains the most popular one in prime time.
Rupert Murdoch’s Fox cable networks, amid this crisis, have not been diverted from their primary mission, even if misinformation is the price. Apologia and advocacy for both Donald Trump and the Republican Party has typically taken precedence at Fox News and Fox Business. Even at a time when such a collective public effort is required to combat a global pandemic, the danger wasn’t a deterrent. Some anchors and guests likened COVID-19 to the flu, which is patently false. Fox Business’ Trish Regan theorized that media alarm about COVID-19 was “yet another attempt to impeach the president.” They encouraged Americans to congregate and travel, ignoring safety advice from medical experts and even government officials.
Fox anchors, at least, have now earned some recognition and ridicule for finally removing their tinfoil hats. The Washington Post has assembled a video of Fox News and Fox Business personalities abruptly switching from blithe dismissal to newly found caution. That change coincided with the Trump administration’s declaration of a national emergency late last week. However, both the president and Fox’s cable broadcasts have remained a danger to public health at a crucial time.
Those Fox cable networks, in particular, are getting too much credit for the sudden conversion of its anchors. Hosts and guests echo the racist renaming of the coronavirus as the “Chinese virus,” for which the White House refused to apologize on Wednesday. Producers continue to allow guests on the air who either behave like Trump sycophants or who have questionable expertise and reputations. While Fox Business took Trish Regan off the air shortly after her reckless accusation, the others who spread patently false information remain undisciplined. Perhaps as a consequence of that lack of discipline, the lies and misinformation have continued to flow.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/fox-news-still-danger-to-public-health-969365/