After ABC News uncovered the faux scandal that a California automaker that received a federal loan is creating American jobs, the right-wing media is predictably failing to acknowledge those American jobs. Instead, they're hyping the fact that the company, Fisker, is assembling the cars in Finland, without clarifying that none of the loan money is going towards the overseas facility.
For instance, Fox's “straight news” program America's Newsroom aired a graphic saying “FEDERAL LOAN ... FOR FINLAND?” But host Bill Hemmer never mentioned that the loan supported American jobs, or that Fisker is barred from putting the money towards its overseas plant:
It's also worth noting that this story is not “news” -- the Department of Energy included the fact that the cars would be assembled “overseas” in a press release announcing the loan over a year ago:
In the first stage of the program, Fisker Automotive will use a $169.3 million ATVM loan for engineering integration costs as it works with primarily U.S. suppliers to complete the company's first vehicle, the Fisker Karma. Engineers will also design tools and equipment and develop manufacturing processes. This work will be conducted at Fisker's Pontiac, Michigan office with support from its headquarters in Irvine, California. While the final assembly of the Karma will be done overseas, more than 65 percent (based on cost) of the parts required for Karma will come from U.S. suppliers. The four-door Karma is scheduled to appear in showrooms in summer 2010. (h/t Politico's Morning Energy)
And several outlets reported this fact at the time.
Nevertheless, right-wing blogs are seizing on this “news,” hoping to claim another “Obama administration boondoggle” by obscuring the facts.