Following backlash from far-right figures, Fox News edited an already published column to remove criticism of extreme-right figure Nick Fuentes, instead characterizing him as just an anti-vaccine activist. After the edits were stealthily made, Fuentes thanked Fox.
Fuentes is a Holocaust-denying white nationalist who attended the deadly 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and encouraged the January 6 insurrection. He also led a campaign to have followers for his group, America First, harass those who they perceived as more mainstream conservatives. Fuentes called this the “Groyper War,” with his followers calling themselves “Groypers” and claiming membership in a “Groyper Army.”
On November 8, Fuentes reportedly announced that he would be holding an event in Staten Island, New York, later in the week. Per journalist Nick Martin, Fuentes planned to end his event at Mac’s Public House, which had infamously defied COVID-19 protocols earlier in the pandemic, leading to glowing coverage on Fox News. (The owner was indicted over the flouted protocols at Mac’s, though he escaped charges for allegedly running over a sheriff’s deputy with a vehicle while fleeing arrest.)
As The Daily Beast’s Will Sommer reported on Sunday, Fox News posted an article about the Fuentes march but then edited it after far-right backlash: