It’s an age-old debate: Why is Fox & Friends so bad at reporting things that are, you know, true? Is it because they are intentionally trying to dupe their viewers? Or is it because they are simply too lazy and/or simpleminded to confirm their facts before sharing them with millions of people? We’re not sure, but just to be safe, someone should tell them about this thing, the Internet, that allows one to quickly and easily check information. Because the error they made this morning was very avoidable.
Yesterday, President Obama marked “Talk Like a Pirate Day” by tweeting a photo of himself meeting with a cartoonish, Disney-style pirate. The photo was taken in 2009 as part of a White House Correspondent’s Association Dinner gag. But Fox & Friends claimed that the photo was taken yesterday, and alleged that while Obama was “too busy” to meet with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he had found time for a fake pirate. The accusation closely, er, parroted a misleading Drudge Report headline, which showed the photo above the words But No Time for Netanyahu.
Giving credence to the “lazy and/or simpleminded” argument is that Fox & Friends tweeted a correction after the show.
Well, not a “correction,” exactly. Just a basic statement of fact that fails to actually acknowledge the show’s mistake. Fox & Friends: where even the corrections lack context.
