A hit piece targeting Fox News’ co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle that was published by The New York Observer last week has caused significant blowback against the publication, which has now issued a partial correction on its story.
The article claims that Guilfoyle spent the Fourth of July “mingling with Trump titans and an internet conspiracy theorist.”
The Observer used a tweet from Right Wing Watch that showed Guilfoyle in a picture with Pizzagate conspiracy theorist David Seaman as the basis for their attack.
The Observer was forced to issue a correction on their report after claiming that Guilfoyle “pow-wowed” with the conspiracy theorist because she did not know who he was and obliged to take a picture with him when he asked her. The correction states:
A previously published version of this article stated that Kimberly Guilfoyle “pow-wowed” with David Seaman. The article has been updated to reflect that taking a photo with someone does not necessarily imply further discussions or exchanges of ideas that would constitute a pow-wow.
Guilfoyle, who spent the day with new boyfriend Donald Trump Jr., called out the false claim by the Observer in a tweet one day after the report was published:
Guilfoyle has become a favorite target of left-wing media since she started dating Trump Jr. as reporters like CNN’s Brian Stelter see the relationship as a golden opportunity to not only attack the Trump family but also to attack Fox News, which blows them out in ratings on a daily basis.
“Look, they seem to be a cute couple and I love a good love story. But doesn’t this radically affect her day job?” Stelter said on Sunday. “How can any of her colleagues criticize Trump when the president’s son’s girlfriend is sitting right there at the table? Doesn’t this complicate the entire network’s coverage of the Trump family?”
Stelter’s show has struggled as of late, falling significantly behind Fox News during the 11 a.m. hour on Sunday in total viewers and the coveted 25-54 demographic, and even falling behind MSNBC in total viewers during the second quarter of 2018, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Fox News’ “Media Buzz” garnered an average total viewership of 1,329,000 people and 283,000 in the 25-54 demographic for the second quarter of 2018 vs. Stelter’s show “Reliable Sources,” which only had 822,000 total average viewers, getting beat by MSNBC who had 886,000 total average viewers.
While hard to compare because it’s in a different time slot, Fox New’s “The Five,” which is co-hosted by Guilfoyle, destroyed Stelter’s show in ratings, averaging 2,233,000 in total viewers and 403,000 in the 25-54 demographic.