On Sunday, political commentator Eric Boehlert appeared on MSNBC’s “AM Joy” with host Joy Reid, where he snapped, “Fox News has been getting people killed for years,” adding of Fox News, “they are a cancer on this country.” He followed, ironically, by stating, “Their programming is to vilify, stir hatred and paranoia.”
Boehlert was prompted to make his remark by Reid asserting:
According to the Washington Post, Rupert Murdoch, there is an op-ed in the Washington Post that says that Rupert Murdoch could actually save lives by forcing Fox News to tell the truth about the coronavirus right now. As a media analyst for a very long time, do you see any possibility that Fox may want to try to save its own viewers by forcing this narrative to change? Because it’s true, if they change their narrative, it’s not true [clear?] if they follow Trump or Trump follows them, but they will act together.
Boehlert answered, “Right. Anyone waiting for Rupert Murdoch to do the honorable thing is going to wait a very, very long time, after someone who’s watched him for 20 years. Look, Fox News has been getting people killed for years.”
Boehlert doubled down on Twitter, writing, “also this pt is key: -Fox News brainwashes, plain an simple. (raise yr hand if you’ve lost a loved one to Fox News.) and when viewers are brainwashed they believe *everything,* even lies abt a pandemic.:
also this pt is key:
-Fox News brainwashes, plain an simple. (raise yr hand if you've lost a loved one to Fox News.) and when viewers are brainwashed they believe *everything,* even lies abt a pandemic. pic.twitter.com/rxVfibWqKf
— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) March 15, 2020
The transcript of the relevant section of the show went like this, as Newsbusters reported:
Reid:
According to The Washington Post, Rupert Murdoch — there is an op-ed in The Washington Post that says that Rupert Murdoch could actually save lives by forcing Fox News to tell the truth about the coronavirus right now. And this is just a piece of it: “And so, so let’s acknowledge the obvious: there is no more important player in influencing Trump than Fox News. And no more powerful figure at Fox than its patriarch. Murdoch might consider, too, that with the median age of Fox viewers around 65, they’re among the most vulnerable to the virus’s threats.”
As a media analyst for a very long time, do you see any possibility that Fox may want to try to save its own viewers by forcing this narrative to change? Because it’s true, if they change their narrative, it’s not true if they follow Trump or Trump follows them, but they will act together.
Boehlert:
Right. Anyone waiting for Rupert Murdoch to do the honorable thing is going to wait a very, very long time, after someone who’s watched him for 20 years. Look, Fox News has been getting people killed for years. I mean, Just look at their crusade against affordable health care, their crusade against expanding Medicaid. This is not unusual for them. It’s far more dire. I mean, I’ve been watching and documenting Fox News for 15 years. I mean, they are a cancer on this country. There’s no question about it. So who knows what they’re going to do? Their programming is to vilify, stir hatred and paranoia. And if it’s a pandemic that’s the backdrop, then they’re going to do it.
Video below: