Bill O'Reilly Lies About His Role Pushing Debunked “No-Go Zones” Myth

Written by Zachary Pleat

Published

Fox News host Bill O'Reilly falsely claimed that he had no role in hyping the myth that Muslim “no-go zones” exist throughout France, just days after Fox News apologized for spreading the fiction. In fact, O'Reilly previously cited the so called “no-go zones” as one of the contributing causes of the Paris terror attacks.

On January 17, Fox correspondent Julie Banderas apologized for the network's coverage “regarding the Muslim population in Europe” in the days following the terrorist attacks in Paris, explaining that there is no credible evidence to support the existence of Muslim “no-go zones.” Several other Fox hosts offered additional apologies throughout the day.

On the January 20 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, during a discussion about the Parisian mayor Anne Hildalgo's announcement that she intends to sue Fox News for its “prejudiced” coverage following the attacks, O'Reilly denied that the Fox apology was about the Muslim “no-go zone” myth in France. He insisted that it was only about Steve Emerson's ludicrous claim that the entire English city of Birmingham was Muslim-only and nobody else went to the city. O'Reilly also denied that he had anything to do with the “no-go zones” claim (emphasis added):

O'REILLY: All right, we got a minute. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, said she's going to sue Fox News for reporting on so-called no-go zones in Paris. They're dominated by Muslims and police hesitate to go in there -- at least that has been the reportage in some places. I didn't have anything to do with this. But I will point out that the mayor is a socialist.

But on January 9, O'Reilly cited Muslim “no-go zones” in France as a cause behind the terror attacks in Paris (emphasis added):

O'REILLY: France brought a lot of this terrorism on itself. We just talked about the no-go zones that they allow. They allow, 10 percent of the population is Muslim. They are all in there, they're radicalized, they don't assimilate.

UPDATE: O'Reilly also claimed that Fox News “isn't even seen in France, because they block it.” But The Washington Post's Erik Wemple reports that a Fox spokesperson confirmed that the network reaches 13,680 homes in France but has a limited reach because it is only available in English and broadcasts on a U.S.-based schedule.