Fox Co-Host Praises Center For Medical Progress' Misleading Planned Parenthood Videos As “Investigatory Journalism”

Fox News' Kimberly Guilfoyle lauded the Center for Medical Progress' (CMP) deceptively-edited footage of Planned Parenthood officials discussing fetal tissue donation as “investigatory journalism.”

On the January 19 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, Guilfoyle and contributor Lis Wiehl discussed Planned Parenthood's lawsuit against CMP for breaking “federal and state laws, including the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, as well as invasion of privacy and recording laws.” Guilfoyle criticized the lawsuit arguing that they were within their constitutional rights “and they were doing investigatory journalism getting to the heart of the matter”:

CMP's videos used footage of undercover activists' conversations with Planned Parenthood officials and staff members of private, for-profit biomedical procurement companies. The videos were deceptively-edited  to cut out important context to make it appear that Planned Parenthood officials were “sell[ing] the body parts of aborted fetuses,” and agreeing to alter abortion procedures to profit from the sale of fetal tissue. The complete footage released on CMP's website debunked the sensationalist claims of the deceptively-edited videos, showing that Planned Parenthood officials were discussing routine legal reimbursement for costs associated with fetal tissue donation, not selling “baby parts” for profit.

The videos Guilfoyle described as “investigatory journalism” led to CMP's designation as Media Matters' 2015 Misinformer of the Year.