What Fox News says and what Fox News does can be two very different things. The right-wing cable news channel has a COVID-19 vaccine requirement in its Manhattan headquarters, and in December 2021, a Fox News spokesman told the New York Times that more than 90% of its employees had been vaccinated for COVID-19. But that hasn’t stopped Fox News from shamelessly promoting anti-vaxxer nonsense.
Journalist Aaron Blake, in an article published by the Washington Post on February 7, takes a look at anti-vaxxer tweets that have been coming from Fox News’ Twitter account @FoxNews — some of which are implying that COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous.
NO LAUGHING MATTER: Comedian collapses on stage, fractures skull after declaring she’s triple vaxxed https://t.co/6t8qcYh9sz
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 7, 2022
The Post journalist also points out that Fox News has described anti-vaxxers as “freedom fighters,” and some of its hosts have falsely claimed that the vaccines aren’t working. Some Fox News hosts have been promoting the anti-vaxxer truck drivers who oppose Canada’s vaccine mandate for truckers, which says that truck drivers entering Canada from the U.S. must show proof of vaccination for COVID-19.
But even former President Donald Trump has recently been stressing that COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective and are saving lives, arguing that Republicans should be taking credit for the vaccines instead of attacking them.
‘I WILL DIE FREE’: Man refuses to get COVID vaccine needed for life-saving transplanthttps://t.co/PhJjILwL0k
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 30, 2022
“The arguments of…. anti-vaccine activists have long had a home on Fox, particularly on Tucker Carlson’s show and other opinion shows,” Blake explains. “But to the extent it continues to bleed into other coverage and the framing of stories and tweets from the hard news side, that’s notable. What we’re increasingly seeing is that the market for vaccine skepticism on the right has spoken, and politicians and influencers are responding accordingly. While most Republicans are vaccinated, most are now spurning boosters.”
https://www.alternet.org/2022/02/fox-news-ramps-up-its-dangerously-misleading-anti-vaxxer-tweets/