Following a live report from New York City's Zuccotti Park in which protesters chanted “Fox News lies,” Fox Business host Gerri Willis claimed that Fox is simply “trying to cover the story just like everybody else.” However, Fox hosts and contributors have pushed lies, smears, and attacks about the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Whitewash: Fox Host Tries To Dismiss “Fox News Lies” Chants
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Fox Business Host “Angry” At “Fox News Lies” Chants From Occupy Wall Street
Willis: “I Have No Idea What They're Talking About.” After airing a live report from Fox Business reporter Adam Shapiro during which a crowd at Zuccotti Park chanted “Fox News lies,” Willis responded: “I have no idea what they're talking about. We're trying to cover the story just like everybody else there.” She continued: “Every time I hear a crowd chant that, I get really, really angry, because Fox News -- just like everybody else -- is trying to cover the story.” [Fox Business, The Willis Report, 11/15/11]
But Fox News Repeatedly Aired Lies, Smears, Attacks About Protesters
Fox News: “ACORN Playing Behind Scenes Role In 'Occupy' Movement.” FoxNews.com claimed that ACORN, which disbanded in November 2010, is playing a “behind [the] scenes role” in Occupy Wall Street. Fox alleged that the group New York Communities for Change (NYCC) -- which is led by a former ACORN official -- is paying people to join protests and collecting money to fund OWS activities. [FoxNews.com, 10/26/11, via Media Matters]
Click here for the truth about New York Communities For Change's support for Occupy Wall Street
Fox & Friends Promoted “We Are The 53 Percent.” While Fox was baselessly claiming the Occupy Wall Street protesters do not pay taxes, Fox & Friends hyped a counter movement launched by CNN contributor and conservative pundit Erick Erickson, a website called, “We are the 53 percent.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 10/11/11]
Special Report's Baier Claimed Protests Were Supported By Ayatollah Khamenei And Hugo Chavez. Special Report anchor Bret Baier claimed that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez “threw his support behind protesters” at Occupy Wall Street. A day later, he also claimed that the protests had “elicit[ed] support” from Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei. [Fox News, Special Report with Bret Baier, 10/11/11; 10/12/11, via Media Matters]
Fox's Trotta On Occupy Wall Street Website: “What You Will Read Is The Ravings Of What Sounds Like The Unabomber.” On the October 8 edition of Fox News' America's News HQ, Fox News contributor Liz Trotta claimed, “I advise anybody who has a sense of humor left about this to go to OccupyWallStreet.com, and what you will read is the ravings of what sounds like the Unabomber. ... [I]t's certainly better going down there and carrying signs than going out and hitting the pavement for a job.” [Fox News, America's News HQ, 10/8/11, via Media Matters]
Hannity Graphic Labeled Protesters “Lunatics Of The Left Wing.” During the September 30 edition of Fox News' Hannity, an on-screen graphic aired while the co-hosts discussed the protests, reading, “Lunatics of the left wing”:
[Fox News, Hannity, 9/30/11, via Media Matters]
Fox's Watters: Wall Street Protesters Are “The Sludge” Of “Every Left-Wing Cause.” On the September 30 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News producer Jesse Watters said of the protests: “I think if you put every single left-wing cause into a blender and hit power, this is the sludge you'd get. And it's basically anti-capitalism. And they want to redistribute the wealth. But if you eliminate capitalism, there is no wealth to redistribute.” [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 9/30/11, via Media Matters]
Guilfoyle: Protesters Have “Absolutely No Purpose Or Focus” And Are “Just Looking To ... Dirty The Streets.” On the September 30 edition of Fox News' Hannity, Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle said of the protests: “It's like Woodstock meets Burning Man meets people with absolutely no purpose or focus in life. No wonder, they have nothing but free time to be down there. They make up a slogan or a cause as they go along. And they are just looking to, like, go out there and dirty the streets. And they really don't have any, like, idea about what they are doing there.” [Fox News, Hannity, 9/30/11, via Media Matters]
Kilmeade: Protesters “Sit In Their Own Squalor All Day.” On the October 11 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, Kilmeade claimed Occupy Wall Street protesters “sit in their own squalor all day.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 10/11/11, via Media Matters]
Bolling: Occupy Wall Street Protesters “Do Seem Like Petulant Little Children.” On the October 10 edition of Fox News' Your World, guest host Eric Bolling hosted syndicated columnist Star Parker to attack the Occupy Wall Street protests. Bolling introduced the segment by claiming that the protesters “do seem like petulant little children.” He then asked: “How about going out and trying to find a job instead?” [Fox News, Your World, 10/10/11, via Media Matters]
Crowley: Protesters Are “Useful Idiots Who Probably Haven't Paid Much In Taxes Their Whole Life.” On the October 10 edition of Fox News' Your World, Fox News contributor Monica Crowley called the protesters “useful idiots who probably haven't paid much in taxes their whole life, have no concept -- and all they know is, 'Oh, profit is a four-letter word, corporations and rich folks -- millionaires and billionaires are evil, they need to be taxed more.' As if they don't pay enough.” [Fox News, Your World, 10/10/11, via Media Matters]
Johnson: “I Would Think” Wall Street Protesters “Are Deluded In A Lot Of Ways.” On the October 3 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, Fox News legal analyst Peter Johnson Jr. attacked the Occupy Wall Street protesters, claiming, “Clearly, I would think these folks are deluded in a lot of ways and probably provide the best argument for national service for 18-year-olds that we have ever seen.” Johnson later said of the protests: “I don't know what it is. I don't think they know what it is. But it's costing Americans millions of dollars in tax dollars in order to arrest them.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 10/3/11, via Media Matters]
Crowds Also Chanted “Fox News Lies” During Wisconsin Labor Protests
To see how Fox News lied about the Wisconsin labor protests during its coverage, click here