The Intercept's Mehdi Hasan: “Fox News is the arsonist that turns up and wants to continue fanning the flames”
Hasan: “Fox is making money out of racism, they're profiting off of hatred”
Published
Citation From the August 5 edition of CNN's CNN Tonight With Don Lemon
DON LEMON (HOST): Mehdi, what did you want to say about Cesar Sayoc and what you've heard so far?
MEHDI HASAN (INTERCEPT COLUMNIST): Well yeah, Cesar Sayoc is a prime example of what you were discussing before the break about the role that Fox News plays. We talked about social media, Trump talked about social media this morning. 8chan, YouTube, and the radicalization of these angry white men. We need to talk much more about Fox News, the quote/unquote "news" network playing that role with Cesar Sayoc. I mean, Kirsten Powers used the analogy earlier on your show that Trump is like the arsonist that shows up at your house and wants to put the fire out. Fox News is worse. Fox is the arsonist that turns up and wants to continue fanning the flames. That's what they've been doing since Saturday and Sunday. Watch their shows today. They called the El Paso guy, he's not a white nationalist, he's an environmental extremist, they said, on The Five earlier this evening. I mean, this is a kind of running interference for white nationalists. They're like the Anwar al-Awlaki of the white nationalist movement. They're basically hate preachers, I'm sorry to say, especially in the prime-time shows. But even in the straight news shows they talk about invasions as well. So we really need to focus on this, because Fox is making money out of racism, they're profiting off of hatred. What was it Toni Morrison said, Don, that the function of racism, the very serious function, is distraction, and you see that with Fox.