Rush Limbaugh complains media outlets don't want to tie Las Vegas gunman to ISIS

Limbaugh: To “the American left, there's no such thing as militant Islamic terrorism”

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

In the wake of a mass shooting in Las Vegas, NV -- the deadliest in U.S. history -- The Associated Press and other news outlets reported that terror group ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack. The claim was based on no evidence and was later denied by the FBI. But the denial didn’t deter right-wing radio host and conspiracy theorist Rush Limbaugh from complaining that American media were refusing to discuss the debunked story because they “do not want ISIS being credited with this stuff.”

During the October 2 edition of Premiere Radio Network's The Rush Limbaugh Show, Limbaugh argued that American media outlets are unwilling to link the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas to ISIS. He cited a May 7 article from the British newspaper The Independent, which detailed how ISIS verifies claims of its involvement in terror attacks, as evidence that the rumored (and debunked) connection between the Las Vegas gunman and the terror group was credible. Limbaugh argued that the terror group had to set up its own “news agency” to convey information about its supposed involvement in terrorist acts because “the American drive-bys do not want ISIS being credited with this stuff” since to “the American left, there is no such thing as militant Islamic terrorism:"

RUSH LIMBAUGH (HOST): When they claim responsibility, it pretty much has been true. They are surprisingly pretty disciplined. They do not claim credit for things they have nothing to do with.

[...]

So ISIS has it's own news agency because they don't trust the American drive-bys to get it right. And you know why that is? Why do you think -- why do you think ISIS doesn't trust the American drive-bys? No. Because they know that the American drive-bys do not want ISIS being credited with this stuff. The American drive-bys want other people to be blamed. The American drive-bys and the American left, there's no such thing as militant Islamic terrorism, right? There is no such thing. So, when there is, the American drive-bys do everything they can to avoid crediting militant Islamic terrorism with such acts.