Book: Hoax

Brian Stelter’s new book,”Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News and The Dangerous Distortion of Truth” comes out Tuesday.  Rachel just had Stelter on her show.

It should come as no surprise that FNC has more influence on Trump’s presidency than any advisor or cabinet member. Stelter documents DOZENS of instances where Fox personalities made up stories that were immediately retweeted by Trump, or he issued an Executive Order to deal with some issue that didn’t really exist.

Several examples were given in the interview. Perhaps the most egregious was Fox News saying the coronavirus was just another flu, and would disappear in April when the weather got warmer. There’s no way to know exactly how many people died because of this misinformation, but it’s in the tens of thousands at a minimum.

Several other seemingly-inexplicable Trump actions (or inactions) are directly traceable to Fox News broadcasts. The president watches Fox all day every day, and is unable to evaluate the veracity of what he sees.

Will the book have an impact?

Time will tell.

More here.

Quote :

Trump will often hear about news -- or conspiracy theories -- on Fox, and he will create policy based on what he hears on the network. He also frequently calls the network to tell shows what to cover.

"It's as if Trump has hijacked Fox News, said CNN's Chief Media Correspondent and anchor of Reliable Sources Brian Stelter in an interview with CNN's Alisyn Camerota Sunday. "Even people who never watch Fox are affected, because the president is misinformed by the channel."

For example, President Trump tweeted that Americans shouldn't buy Goodyear tires after he watched a segment on Fox News reporting on how the company told employees not to wear MAGA hats.

"Fox and Friends" producers told Stelter that they started "programming the show for the president" because they knew he was watching.