GOP strategist Tantaros falsely claimed Al Gore "said ... he invented the Internet"

Summary: On Fox News, Republican strategist Andrea Tantaros repeated a long-debunked media falsehood, asserting, "[W]e saw with Al Gore -- he said, you know, he invented the Internet." But Gore did not say he "invented the Internet"; in an interview on CNN, he said: "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet."

During the March 25 edition of Fox News' Studio B with Shepard Smith, Republican strategist Andrea Tantaros asserted, "[W]e saw with Al Gore -- he said, you know, he invented the Internet," repeating a long-debunked media falsehood. Tantaros continued: "Eventually voters start to question candidates when they start to make a series of inaccurate statements." Contrary to Tantaros' characterization, Gore did not say he "invented the Internet." During the March 9, 1999, interview on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer that gave rise to the myth, Gore said: "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." Guest host Trace Gallagher did not challenge Tantaros' inaccurate statement.

—J.H.