MTV News’ Decoded disproved four myths commonly used by right-wing media to discredit Black Lives Matter, illustrating that the movement is actually “about the lack of consequences when black lives are taken at the hands of police.” 

Right-wing media have regularly condemned the Black Lives Matter movement for ignoring “black-on-black crime,” and have also falsely claimed that Black Lives Matter is anti-cop and racist for suggesting that only black lives matter. Right-wing media also often assert that black people are not subject to disproportionate use of police force when compared to whites, and Fox News has consistently attempted to discredit Black Lives Matter, virtually since the movement’s beginning. 

Franchesca Ramsey dismantled four myths about Black Lives Matter in a July 14 video for MTV News’ Decoded. Ramsey pointed out both that black people are concerned about violence in their communities and that “our communities are still very segregated,” meaning “black-on-black crime” isn’t any more of “a thing” than white-on-white crime. With regard to allegations that Black Lives Matter is anti-white or anti-cop, Ramsey also affirmed that saying “black lives matter” isn’t the same as saying that other lives don’t matter: “It’s totally OK for a movement to focus on issues specific to one marginalized group.” Finally, although “there are more white people killed by police officers than black people,” Ramsey highlighted data showing that “black Americans are 2.5 times as likely as white Americans to be shot and killed by police officers.”