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In the days and weeks after the 2020 elections, the Fox News Channel repeatedly broadcast false claims that then-President Donald Trump had been cheated of victory. Off the air, the network's stars, producers and executives expressed contempt for those same conspiracies, calling them "mind-blowingly nuts," "totally off the rails" and "completely bs" - often in far earthier terms. The network's top primetime stars - Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity - texted contemptuously of the claims in group chats, but also denounced colleagues pointing that out publicly or on television. Ingraham called Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell "a bit...

CNN is canceling its Sunday media affairs show Reliable Sources, and host Brian Stelter is departing the network, Stelter tells NPR. In a statement to NPR, Stelter says he's grateful for the show and his team's examination of "the media, truth and the stories that shape our world." "It was a rare privilege to lead a weekly show focused on the press at a time when it has never been more consequential," Stelter said, promising to say more on Sunday's show — its final episode. Stelter got his start blogging about cable news as a student and went on to...

The fatal shooting of a young Democratic Party aide named Seth Rich early in the morning of July 10, 2016, brought incalculable loss to his parents. Within days, Joel and Mary Rich then had to endure an unimaginable, additional blow: the eruption of a cottage industry of conspiracy theories and outright lies around their son's life and death. Police in Washington, D.C., never identified his killer, and there was a vacuum of reliable information. Hot takes, destructive speculation and false claims about Seth rocketed around the internet and found a warm embrace on many Fox News shows. "We're just beside...

Who won the November 2020 U.S. presidential elections? That was the question California lawmaker Zoe Lofgren asked Monday at the hearing of the House Select Committee on the January 6th attacks on Congress. "Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., of the great state of Delaware" came the reply. After November 7th, how likely was it for then-President Donald Trump to pull out a surprise victory? "You're better off to play the Powerball," was the answer. Asked about Fox News's projection of Biden as the winner of Arizona on Election Night, the network's former political director, Chris Stirewalt, testified, "Our poll in Arizona...

Well, we mentioned that his announcement today follows reports that he had objected to some of Fox News's recent political coverage.

NPR's CEO and president, Vivian Schiller, has been forced to resign, the radio broadcaster's media correspondent said Wednesday, following an undercover sting in which a senior executive was videotaped describing Tea Party members as "racist." On Tuesday, Schiller had condemned the comments by Ron Schiller (no relation) — NPR Foundation's senior vice president for fundraising at the time — that were secretly filmed by political activist James O'Keefe of "Project Veritas." But a Wednesday statement from the chairman of NPR's board of directors, Dave Edwards, said the board had accepted Vivian Schiller's resignation "with deep regret." It was effective immediately......

'This brave young woman essentially sent a message to the future' Senior editor of the Atlantic and NPR news analyst Jack Beatty commended Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg for sending a powerful "message to the future" on climate change. "I think her j’accuse will echo through the years," Beatty told host David Folkenflik. Folkenflik said the young activist "drove conservatives, Republicans nuts" and that she's making a valid point because she and others her age stand to inherit a world affected by climate change. Beatty agreed and went further in praising her vision. "This brave young woman essentially sent a message...

NPR is acting to clarify the role of longtime analyst and commentator Cokie Roberts after she co-wrote a syndicated newspaper column calling for "the rational wing" of the Republican Party to stop Donald Trump's march toward its presidential nomination. NPR has a policy forbidding its journalists from taking public stances on political affairs. She has not been a full-time employee for decades, and several years ago Roberts officially was named a commentator. (The timing was confirmed in separate interviews with Roberts, NPR officials and the former senior vice president for news who made the decision.) The role gives Roberts more...

Media Matters: How They Deceive and Why It Matters Posted by Lee Stranahan Apr 1st 2011 Yesterday, I did a piece showing how Media Matters used deceptive editing techniques on the Fox / Bill Sammon story. I’m still waiting to hear back from Sammon before I do part two but I wanted to show you a couple of more videos that I’ve done in the meantime. The first one shows how Media Matters used the ‘straw man’ fallacy to attempt to discredit the piece published by Lila Rose yesterday on the Mammosham story. As I say in the video, your...