Media Misinformation

Foxy Nukes

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 5/5/26

Headline:  “Fox’s ”nuke justification for the Iran war — and the higher prices it’s wrought — has collapsed”

Subhead:  “Is it a small price to pay if you get nothing in return?”

“Fox pundits have repeatedly argued that the Iran war’s costs are ‘a small price to pay’ for its supposed prevention of the imminent threat posed by Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon.

But a new U.S. intelligence assessment reportedly found that after two months of war, ‘the time Iran would ​need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that a U.S.-Israeli attack had pushed back the timeline to up to a year,’ according to exclusive reporting from Reuters. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-nuke-justification-iran-war-and-higher-prices-its-wrought-has-collapsed

Reporters Puzzled?

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Article in The Babylon Bee by Staff, 4/28/26

Headline:  “Media Still Stumped As To Motive Of Gunman With Manifesto Titled ‘Why I’m Going To Kill Donald J. Trump’ “

“U.S. — Members of the national media remained completely baffled as to the target or motive of a gunman carrying a detailed, 47-page manifesto entitled ‘Why I’m Going To Kill Donald J. Trump.’

“The document reportedly provided a handy bullet-pointed list of grievances along with a helpful table of contents detailing primary and secondary motivations for wanting to kill the president, but after hours of reviewing the manifesto, journalists came up empty as to who the gunman may have been targeting and why. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://babylonbee.com/news/media-still-stumped-as-to-motive-of-gunman-with-manifesto-titled-why-im-going-to-kill-donald-j-trump

Demons in the Media?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 4/17/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Pete Hegseth uses the Bible to demonize the press”

Subhead:  “In a Pentagon press briefing, defense secretary called the press ‘unpatriotic’ and lashed out about ‘endlessly negative coverage’ of the war in Iran”

“. . .After calling the coverage ‘unpatriotic,’ Hegseth then launched into a bizarre attack of the press by invoking the Bible . .”

“Then he added, ‘As the passage ends, the Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel against him, how to destroy him. I sat there in church and I thought, Our press are just like these Pharisees, not all of you, not all of you, but the legacy Trump-hating press.’ ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/hegseth-compares-press-biblical-pharisees/

Reporter Bots Know Best?

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Article in Daily Kos by Walter Einenkel, 4/16/26

Headline: “Fox News is asking AI chatbots to defend Trump’s Iran war”

“Facing a tough reelection campaign, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler went on Fox Business to join host Maria Bartiromo in a President Donald Trump ass-kissing session, where the two defended the Iran war by posing a convoluted question to a chatbot.

“ ‘How would the media report on World War II?’ Bartiromo said. ‘Here’s what I got from Chat GPT. You ready?’ “Leaders like Franklin D. Roosevelt would face nonstop scrutiny—not near unified messaging like in the 1940s. Social media would amplify dissent, leaks, and battlefield setbacks in real time, changing public support even faster.” ‘. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/4/16/800021315/videos/fox-news-is-asking-ai-chatbots-to-defend-trumps-iran-war/

News Predictions Can be Wrong?

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Article in Media Matters by Zachary Pleat, 4/10/26

Headline:  “Fox promised oil and gas prices would quickly drop once US attacks on Iran ended. Analysts say prices will be elevated well into next year.”

“Analyses from consulting firms, economists, and at least one government agency are contradicting rosy promises by Fox News personalities that oil and gasoline prices would quickly drop toward pre-war levels once U.S. attacks on Iran ceased. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-promised-oil-and-gas-prices-would-quickly-drop-once-us-attacks-iran-ended-analysts-say

Surrender or Victory?

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Article in Media Matters by Giddeon Taaffe, tri Lonergan, Noah Towe, 4/8/26

Headline:   “How fractured right-wing media are spinning Trump’s Iran capitulation”

Subhead:  “Right-wing media have been split over the war. As a ceasefire is agreed to, some figures claim Trump ‘negotiated the deal of his life,’ others argue he ‘chickened out again’ and warn the deal ‘could be an amazing victory for Iran.’ “

“Right-wing media are split on the temporary two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States, with some calling it ‘victory’ and crediting Trump’s ‘hyperbolic rhetoric,’ while others remain skeptical, going as far as to call it ‘total U.S. defeat’ and arguing the deal is ‘very difficult to accept.’ Both critics and supporters of the war have criticized the terms of the ceasefire, saying it is a ‘defeat’ and that ‘Iran practically got everything that they wanted.’ ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/how-fractured-right-wing-media-are-spinning-trumps-iran-capitulation

Doppelganger Reporting

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Article in The Intercept by Katherine Krueger, 4/7/26

Headline: “The Media Just Can’t Help Turning Iran Fighter Jet Rescue Into ‘Black Hawk Down’ “

Subhead: “Everyone reported the exact same story at the exact same time — and they all relied on the same liars who got us into this mess.”

“Neither Josh Hartnett nor Ewan McGregor were there, but the way the mainstream media is telling it, they might as well have been. The Sunday morning rescue of a U.S. airman shot down over Iran launched a thousand breathless tick-tock retellings from the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, CBS News, and many, many more — helpful water-carrying for an administration prosecuting a deeply unpopular war without a clear end in sight. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://theintercept.com/2026/04/06/iran-fighter-jet-rescue-media-coverage/

Media and “Shields”

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Article in Common Dreams by Stephen Prager, 4/7/26

Headline:  “Western Media Called Out for ‘Misleading’ Portrayal of Iranians Defending Infrastructure as ‘Human Shields’ “

“ ‘The real legal and moral question is why civilian infrastructure is being targeted at all,’ said one expert.

“After US President Donald Trump made his genocidal declaration on Tuesday that the ‘whole civilization’ of Iran ‘will die tonight,’ reports began to roll in of people across the country standing outside the power plants, bridges, and other civilian infrastructure the president promised to bomb. . .”

“The government has encouraged Iranians, including children and young students, to take to the streets to form human chains around infrastructure that may come under threat, leading some Western media outlets to raise the fear that people were being used as ‘human shields.’

“Sina Toossi, a fellow at the Center for International Policy, however, said this “is a deeply misleading framing. . .”

“ ‘This is about people trying to safeguard electricity, water, and basic civilization under open threat,’ Toossi said. ‘The real legal and moral question is why civilian infrastructure is being targeted at all.’ ”

Read the whole article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/iranians-defend-infrastructure-trump

Fox News More of a Gamble Now?

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Article in The Hill by Ashleigh Fields, 4/7/26

Headline:  “Fox integrating Kalshi prediction markets data across news platforms “

“The Fox Corporation on Tuesday said it would integrate data from Kalshi prediction markets across multiple platforms to enhance the audience experience.

“Insight from the prediction market will be shared on Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Weather and the Fox One platform, according to a press release announcing the integration sponsored by Kalshi. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5820864-fox-corporation-integrates-kalshi-markets/

 

Short-Term Reporting?

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Article in Media Matters by Ilana Berger, 4/3/26

Headline:  “Right-wing media’s narrative that high gas prices are ‘short-term’ and ‘temporary’ is undermined by reporting from major energy conference”

Subhead:  “CNBC anchor Morgan Brennan: ‘The growing chorus on Wall Street, including JP Morgan, Blackrock, Citadel, those are all warning that the war and ongoing oil shocks are being underpriced’ “

“While many right-wing media personalities continue to parrot claims from the Trump administration that high gas prices are a short-term consequence of the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran, a few are starting to question that narrative.

“During S&P Global’s CERAWeek, a Houston-based energy industry conference held this year from March 23-27, attendees and other experts expressed concern over the long-term consequences of President Donald Trump’s war constraining energy supply in the Strait of Hormuz, making clear to reporters that the situation is likely worse than the market is showing. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/right-wing-medias-narrative-high-gas-prices-are-short-term-and-temporary