TOPLINE A Tuesday article from Fox News has kicked off a budding online misinformation campaign buoying the false claim that activist group Black Lives Matter has come out in support of Gaza’s militant Hamas leaders amid the ongoing conflict with Israel.
KEY FACTS
Fox News published a story about a Monday statement from Black Lives Matter declaring its solidarity with Palestinians and support for “Palestinian liberation.”
Though BLM made no mention of Hamas—which has been designated a terrorist group by the U.S., U.K. and European Union, among other global powers—the news outlet characterized the organization’s statement as siding with the militants, headlining its story: “Black Lives Matter says it stands with Hamas terrorists in Israeli conflict.”
Facing some immediate backlash on Twitter, the article was later wiped of the claim BLM was supportive of Hamas, but it wasn’t until Forbes contacted Fox News on Wednesday afternoon that a note outlining the change was added.
The article is still online in its original form on at least two of the network’s affiliates and has been making the rounds on Twitter, where multiple high-profile conservative commentators—including two ex-White House officials—shared the story.
Richard Grenell, a director of National Intelligence under former President Donald Trump, wrote BLM’s stance made him “sick” and that “every American should condemn this immediately” in a tweet with over 5,500 likes and 2,000 retweets.
Meanwhile, Mercedes Schlapp, who has served under two Republican administrations and is the wife of CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) Chairman Matt Schlapp, questioned if “woke corporations will stand up against BLM for their allegiance to Hamas terrorists.”
CHIEF CRITIC
“BLM, Inc is literally endorsing terrorism,” wrote Jenna Ellis, a former election attorney for Trump. She has over 850,000 followers on Twitter.
When asked to comment for this story, Fox News referred to the editor’s note on the article: “This report’s headline was updated to more closely reflect the Black Lives Matter tweet.”
KEY BACKGROUND
The morphing of the narrative around BLM’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the latest example of how quickly misinformation can spread online. Fox News in particular has come under fire for the messaging of its opinion shows, whose hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity often make headlines for throwing their influence behind dubious or easily debunked claims. Recently Carlson, who hosts Fox News’s most popular show, has been criticized by medical professionals—and even colleagues—for sowing doubt in the safety of the coronavirus vaccine.
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