As Fox makes a mockery of news, activists stage circus to make a mockery of Fox
Press Release For Immediate Release
June 24, 2021
Contact: Jack Baldwin, 917-517-8404, xrnyc.press@protonmail.com
BREAKING: Satirical circus action in midtown Manhattan, held by Extinction Rebellion NYC to highlight Fox News misinformation campaign.
As Fox makes a mockery of news, activists stage circus to make a mockery of Fox
New York, NY – Extinction Rebellion staged a circus outside Fox News’ headquarters in midtown Manhattan yesterday, in a direct action intended to hold Fox News accountable for its divisive and fatal spreading of misinformation.
The action featured some most unusual manifestations of Fox’s primetime opinion hosts: present were “Tucker Clownson,” “Sean Hilarity” and the ever-popular “Laura Incorrect.” The parody trio led the public in a variety of games lampooning the network’s increasingly fictional and inflammatory programming. The punk rock band The Resistance Company provided a loud and profane accompaniment to the proceedings.
“We can’t allow these demagogues posing as news anchors to continue to divide us with their lies and deceptions,” said Rev. Chelsea MacMillan from Extinction Rebellion. “Tucker Carlson and company have completely poisoned our political discourse, and we’ve seen where this got us on January 6th. If they continue on this path, we’re going to be the next Hungary – our democracy is not going to survive much longer.”
Fox News, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, has been named Misinformer of the Year 2020 by Media Matters, who have documented at least 13,551 instances of coronavirus misinformation in the cable network’s weekday programming last year. This deluge of lies has kept Fox’s audience from taking the virus seriously, causing possibly hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths and economic hardship. Media Matters further cites the network’s continued record of climate denialism and incendiary coverage of Black Lives Matter protests in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder on Memorial Day of last year.
It is widely agreed that Murdoch’s News Corp is responsible for eroding democracy in the US, the UK and Australia, where it owns many of the most influential news outlets. It has consistently aimed to divide people and undermine institutions with lies and far-right, “populist” ideology through its opinion “journalism” and biased coverage, or lack thereof, on various topics. Fox continues to tout conspiracy theories about the 2020 election results, theories that led to the US Capitol riots and continue to undermine engagement with American democracy.
The insidious, corrupt, billionaire-run mainstream media outlet is a target that has never been more topical, more urgent... or more vulnerable. In Australia, both a petition and Royal Commission inquiry occurred recently on the ownership and dominance of Australian media by News Corp and its impact on the country’s political landscape. In the US, Fox News faces multiple lawsuits for giving life to voting fraud conspiracy theories.
Ironically, in the UK, the carrying value of Murdoch’s flagship newspaper, The Sun, has declined from the equivalent of over $150 million just two years ago to zero today -- a reflection in monetary terms of its journalistic standards.
A corrupt press can't be separated from the corruption and failures of government. It is going to take a great deal for News Corp to become impartial, fair and accurate in its broadcasting, but our movement is demanding: no more games.
A set of photos of this action can be found here. A video clip of the action can be seen here.
Notes to editors:
[1] Opinion: Fox News has given up all pretense of acting as a news network.
[2] Brian Stelter, author of Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth, exposes how the network has become a nexus of right-wing radicalization
https://newrepublic.com/maz/article/162693/brian-stelter-hoax-fox-news-big-lie
[3] Amidst legal provision costs and falling revenue, News Corp’s The Sun had its value written down to zero.
The four demands of Extinction Rebellion are:
● Tell the Truth – Government must declare a climate and ecological emergency.
● Act Now – Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
● Beyond Politics – Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizen’s Assembly on climate and ecological justice.
● Just Transition – We demand a just transition that prioritizes the most vulnerable people and establishes legal rights for ecosystems.
https://www.xrebellion.nyc/media-standards
https://www.facebook.com/xrnyc