With “tea party” promos on Fox Nation, Fox News compounds political boosterism

Fox News continued its pattern of encouraging people to participate in “tea party” protests, highlighting on its Fox Nation website a Fox Forum post by James Pinkerton, titled, “Tea Parties: A Great Part of American History -- And America's Future.”

Continuing Fox News' pattern of encouraging people to participate in “tea party” protests, described primarily as a response to President Obama's fiscal policies, The Fox Nation linked to an April 8 Fox Forum entry by Fox News contributor James Pinkerton, titled, “Tea Parties: A Great Part of American History -- And America's Future.” The Fox Nation, which Fox News claims does not traffic in “biased media,” also featured an accompanying graphic: a used tea bag superimposed over images of the Constitution and the American flag.

As Media Matters for America documented, Fox News hosts have frequently encouraged viewers to participate in the “tea parties”; during the April 6 edition of Glenn Beck, on-screen text characterized these events as “FNC Tax Day Tea Parties.” Tea-party organizers have used the planned attendance of Fox News hosts to promote their protests. Fox News has also aired numerous interviews with protest organizers. Moreover, Fox News contributors are listed as “Tea Party Sponsor[s]” on TaxDayTeaParty.com.

From The Fox Nation: