Fox News Anchor Provides Fake News While Discussing ‘Fake News’ (Video)
“I Misspokeâ€
Fox News correspondent and “America’s News Headquarters†co-anchor Leland Vittert provided viewers with literal fake news during an on-air discussion about exactly that on Sunday afternoon.
In a segment titled “President Vs. The Press,†Vittert discussed so-called fake news with Jeff Katz, described as a “Richmond Talk Radio Host.â€
“I don’t think there’s a problem if they’re punching back,†Katz said. “But you know, the obligation of a real reporter, a serious journalist, is to record and report. And now we just have this machine operating in certain news outlets that frankly, they identify themselves as the so-called ‘Resistance,’ they’re the opposition. And they’re getting tagged over and over again, pimping this fake news, and I think it’s inexcusable.â€
While the duo debated Donald Trump’s frequently-used term, usually applied to news he disagrees with or paints him unfavorably, Vittert turned the conversation about falsehoods in the media to Dave Weigel of The Washington Post.
“You talk about this, and at least for one reporter it turned out to be inexcusable,†Vittert replied. “He doesn’t have a job anymore, and that’s from ‘The Washington Post.’â€
“He put up this tweet with a pretty sarcastic comment about where the president was giving his speech,†the co-anchor continued. “He said ‘packed to the rafters’ and a picture that was taken long before the speech began.â€
“And then, the president demanded an apology – and now he has since left,†Vittert falsely claimed for a second time.
You can watch the exchange below, via Fox News:
During discussion of “fake news,” Fox News anchor claims @daveweigel has been fired. (He has not been fired.) pic.twitter.com/Yb3gCwF0zO
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) December 10, 2017
On Saturday evening, Donald Trump attacked Weigel, demanding a retraction from the Post and an apology. He did so in response to the reporter posting a tweet from his personal Twitter account that questioned the crowd size of the event the president held on Friday, not unlike Vittert’s description.
He did not, however, lose his job. Rather, he apologized – noting “it was a bad tweet on my personal account, not a story for Washington Post. I deleted it after like 20 minutes. Very fair to call me out.â€
The President of the United States subsequently called for Weigel, a journalist and a private citizen, to be fired.
Many on Twitter were quick to point out that Weigel wasn’t fired, and that Fox News had literally reported fake news while discussing fake news.
For his part, Vittert acknowledged this fact. “I misspoke,†he tweeted soon after. “Going to fix out of this commercial break.â€
You are right…I misspoke. Going to fix out of this commercial break. https://t.co/Zal6C3FLuf
— Leland Vittert (@LelandVittert) December 10, 2017
Vittert did just that, as seen below:
Here’s @LelandVittert‘s on-air correction and apology after falsely reporting @daveweigel left the Post. pic.twitter.com/TuatsNwMTj
— Jon Passantino (@passantino) December 10, 2017
Of note, journalists do make mistakes. The president seems to only call for the firing of those he disagrees with, however.
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