Eric Kleefeld
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Articles by Eric Kleefeld
Fox News kept talking down the economy under Biden - then the Dow Jones closed above 40,000
On May 17, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a new all-time high for the first time ever, after briefly exceeding that milestone the day before. The other major American stock indexes, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500, also closed trading for the week near all-time records.
On Wisconsin Jobs, Biden Won And Trump Lost -- So Fox Whines About 'Trolling'
President Joe Biden traveled to Wisconsin on Wednesday to announce a new multibillion-dollar project by Microsoft, which stands in contrast to a notorious failure of local economic development in the state during the Trump administration. In response, Fox News’ purported “straight news” coverage accused Biden of “trying to troll” the public and otherwise dismissed the new project.
Fox News calls President Biden a “troll” for touting accomplishments where Trump failed
President Joe Biden traveled to Wisconsin on Wednesday to announce a new multibillion-dollar project by Microsoft, which stands in contrast to a notorious failure of local economic development in the state during the Trump administration. In response, Fox News’ purported “straight news” coverage accused Biden of “trying to troll” the public and otherwise dismissed the new project.
Eric Kleefeld
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The Washington Post pushes misleading framing about Social Security
The Post ran a misleading headline, “Social Security and Medicare finances look grim as overall debt piles up,” only to partially contradict itself in the sub-headline: “A hot job market means the programs won’t run out of money as fast as once feared, but projections are still bleak.” In fact, the report from the Social Security board of trustees showed a slight improvement to the program’s fiscal outlook, thanks to economic growth and low unemployment increasing the amount of tax revenue...
Murdoch empire conspires to blame Biden for Trump’s trickle-down tax cuts expiring
In an April 15 post on Truth Social, former president and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump misleadingly claimed that under Biden, “you will soon be facing colossal tax HIKES” due to the expiration of Trump’s 2017 tax cut legislation.
Fox News ignores indictments in Arizona for the fake electors conspiracy it helped promote
After serving as a media linchpin in late 2020 for the defeated President Donald Trump’s attempts to overthrow his loss in the election, Fox News is burying the breaking story of a new indictment against Republican conspirators who created their own slate of fake electoral votes in Arizona.
Fox falsely claims Trump’s trickle-down tax cuts for the wealthy were directed at the middle class
On Tuesday morning’s edition of Fox & Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade proudly proclaimed that former president and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump’s tax cuts, passed in 2017, were a “middle-class tax cut predominantly,” when in fact the individual and corporate tax cuts overwhelmingly benefited the rich.
CNN helps to push the same false equivalency as Fox News over reports of Biden's legal fees
Media outlets should avoid the trap of false equivalency following the Axios report that the Democratic National Committee paid $1.5 million for legal fees that President Joe Biden incurred during the fruitless special counsel investigation into his handling of classified materials.
Fox News contributor compares policies to expand voter registration and access to 9/11
Fox News contributor Liz Peek wildly exaggerated the effects of a Biden administration executive order aimed at protecting voting rights and expanding voter registration and access — which, according to Peek’s telling, represents a looming political threat tantamount to the deadly terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Misinformation has Americans depressed about the economy
A panel on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Thursday highlighted the role right-wing misinformation is playing in distorting perceptions about the state of the economy and the rate of inflation, which a majority of Americans incorrectly believe is headed in the wrong direction. Wall Street Journal economic reporter Greg Ip drew attention to the enormous disparity between perception and reality when it comes to consumer sentiment about the economy in an April 4 article, titled “What’s Wrong With the Economy?
Fox fearmongers about California's minimum wage increase
Fox News spent several days hyping the purported negative side effects of California's plan to implement a targeted $20 minimum wage for fast food chains operating in the state. Fox's almost exclusively negative portrayal of the plan to lift the wages of California’s fast food employees is a continuation of the network’s yearslong crusade against raising the minimum wage.
CNN dropped the ball in covering Republicans’ extreme budget agenda
In the week since the House Republican Study Committee released the latest version of its extremist budget agenda, cable news coverage largely dropped the ball in addressing the most dangerous elements of what the GOP’s legislative agenda will be if the party retakes control of both Congress and the White House next year.
Fox News vs. Fox Business: Sister networks offer strikingly different takes on Trump Media’s ballooning stock price
Sister channels Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network are usually singing from the same sheet of music when covering the news of the day, in particular as it relates to reporting about their longtime ally and political patron Donald Trump. Today, however, the two networks deviated markedly during their daytime coverage of the ballooning stock valuation for Trump’s media company, which completed a merger deal last week.
Fox News hosts panhandle for cash to bail Trump out of $464 million civil fraud judgment
Many in right-wing media are falsely claiming that former President Donald Trump’s legal troubles are a sordid matter of political persecution — even comparing him to the political opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin, both living and dead.
What 'Bloodbath'? Auto Industry Is Stronger And Paying Higher Wages Than Under Trump
During a March 16 campaign rally in Ohio, former president and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump declared, “If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s going to be the least of it.
Media outlets are falling for Trump’s “bloodbath” spin: The auto industry under Biden is now stronger than it's been in nearly 20 years
During a March 16 campaign rally in Ohio, former president and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump declared, “If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s going to be the least of it.
Trump's disastrous CNBC interview where he signaled openness to cutting Social Security shows the perils of the MAGA media bubble
CNN: “Former President Donald Trump on Monday suggested he was open to making cuts to Social Security and Medicare after opposing touching the entitlement programs and attacking his GOP presidential primary rivals over the issue.” On CNBC's Squawk Box, Trump said, “There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements,” after he was asked about handling Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Right-wing media are coming for your retirement
MARK LEVIN (HOST): Social Security. We talk about that a lot here as well as Medicare. We talk about the trustees and what the trustees say. Well, I hate to bring you bad news again. This is via Fox, the trustees of Social Security. Medicare, the Social Security Retirement Fund could run out of money as soon as 2033. By my calculation, that's ten years, Mr. Producer. That's a year earlier than previously projected.
Grocery inflation last month was flat, but Fox was hammering Biden on food costs anyway
Throughout the past two weeks, Fox News has been hammering President Joe Biden over increased grocery prices during his administration. But the most recent Consumer Price Index report shows that grocery inflation was flat last month and has increased just 1% over the past year.
Mainstream media have no excuse to keep falsely saying Trump opposes cuts to Social Security and Medicare
During a rambling and often incoherent interview Monday morning on CNBC’s Squawk Box, former president and presumptive 2024 nominee Donald Trump made big news when he admitted he would cut Social Security and Medicare if he is reelected.
“S” is for “Shrinkflation”: Cookie Monster draws right-wing anger for taking a bite out of corporate greed
“I've always said that Elmo is a groomer”: Right-wing media figures did not appreciate “woke” Elmo teaching children that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is safe and effective. Elmo and his dad Louie got vaccinated against COVID-19 in June 2022, with Elmo explaining to all of the children at home that he felt okay after “a little pinch” and his dad discussing questions that he talked about with his pediatrician before getting vaccinated.
Fox News lets Trump ramble on about inflation - which his policies would actually make worse
During a March 5 phone interview with former president Donald Trump, Fox & Friends allowed the likely 2024 Republican nominee to claim that he would solve inflation — which has already declined from a peak of 9.1% in 2022 down to 3.1% under President Joe Biden's leadership, and is expected to continue falling.
Shouldn’t Fox News suspend its contributor deal with potential Trump running mate Tulsi Gabbard?
Former congressperson and current right-wing media darling Tulsi Gabbard spent the 2020 election cycle vying to become the Democratic nominee for president. But in her current gig as a paid Fox News contributor, Gabbard is seemingly using her network appearances to audition to become disgraced former President Donald Trump’s running mate on the 2024 Republican ticket.
Right-wing media promote anti-immigrant group’s misleading report to falsely suggest immigrants are stealing American jobs
The right-wing, anti-immigrant Center for Immigration Studies, which the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has designated a hate group, released a report claiming to show that all of the overall employment growth during the Biden recovery went to immigrants, and right-wing media amplified the report as evidence that Americans are losing jobs to immigrants.
Right-Wing Media Struggle To Embrace Early Voting In Wake Of New York Defeat
Right-wing figures are sounding the alarm that Republicans must mobilize their supporters to embrace early voting in the wake of last night’s special election, in which Democrats won the U.S. House seat formerly held by scandal-plagued ex-Rep. George Santos (R-NY).
After New York special election loss for GOP, right-wing media struggle to embrace early voting
Right-wing figures are sounding the alarm that Republicans must mobilize their supporters to embrace early voting in the wake of last night’s special election, in which Democrats won the U.S. House seat formerly held by scandal-plagued ex-Rep. George Santos (R-NY).
News headlines turn a good inflation report into a bad one by focusing on missed expectations
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual inflation rate declined in January, a welcome sign for the entire American economy, but major news organizations chose to put a negative spin on the data by emphasizing that the reported annual rate was slightly higher than economic forecasts had predicted.
New York City is trying to streamline its spending on migrants. Fox News hypes false claim that it's giving them “prepaid credit cards.”
Fox News is aggressively pushing a false story that New York City under Mayor Eric Adams is providing “credit cards” that migrant families can use for frivolous or illicit purposes. In fact, the city is trying to streamline the aid it has provided migrant families for food and baby supplies by replacing packaged aid with debit cards, which the migrants can use for only those purposes. The Associated Press has published a useful fact check of the story, containing a number of important points.
Border deal sponsors went on Fox News to debunk a false claim about the bill. Fox kept spreading it.
The bill’s provision would require the secretary of Homeland Security to shut down claims for asylum along most of the southern border. The Associated Press explained that the secretary would have the power to “prohibit entry for most individuals if an average of more than 4,000 people per day try to enter the country unlawfully over the course of a week. If the number reaches 5,000 or if 8,500 try to enter unlawfully in a single day, use of the authority would be mandatory.
Fox & Friends blames corporate “DEI” for Boeing safety scandal, while Fox News promotes DEI in its own job listings
Even after years of malfunctions and public scrutiny of Boeing’s 737 Max line, Fox & Friends is baselessly laying the blame for Boeing’s ongoing safety crisis on corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. Commenting on the latest dramatic near-disaster when part of the fuselage blew off an Alaska Airlines flight shortly after takeoff, Fox host Brian Kilmeade rhetorically asked whether diverse hiring was “causing quality problems” in the planes.
Fox Anchors Resume Debasing Themselves To Boost Trump
For those who watched Fox News’ January 10 town hall with Donald Trump, one message rang loud and clear: Fox News is utterly supplicating itself to the disgraced former president in preparation for the general election in which Trump appears most likely to be the Republican nominee.
The reviews are in: Fox News is once again debasing itself as Trump’s propaganda organ
For those who watched Fox News’ January 10 town hall with Donald Trump, one message rang loud and clear: Fox News is utterly supplicating itself to the disgraced former president in preparation for the general election in which Trump appears most likely to be the Republican nominee.
Fox News’ prime-time town hall is a gift to Donald Trump
Fox’s purported “straight news” anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will be hosting a town hall event Wednesday night with former President Donald Trump, which will run in prime time opposite the Republican primary debate on CNN featuring two of Trump’s rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. This event is in effect a major gift to the Trump campaign, with the Fox anchors giving him special treatment over his competition in more ways than one.
Fox Glosses Over Millions Paid To Trump By Foreign Regimes
Fox News anchor Bret Baier provided one of the network’s few acknowledgements of a House Democratic report documenting millions of dollars in payments by foreign governments to former President Donald Trump’s businesses while he was in office.
Fox’s purported “news side” glosses over report on Trump’s business payments from foreign governments
Fox News anchor Bret Baier provided one of the network’s few acknowledgements of a House Democratic report documenting millions of dollars in payments by foreign governments to former President Donald Trump’s businesses while he was in office.
Fox anchor Bret Baier compares Biden’s vaccine mandates and student loan relief to Trump’s attempted coup
Fox News’ purported “straight news anchor” Bret Baier pushed an unbelievable false equivalency on Monday, during an interview with former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY). Parroting a message courtesy of Fox’s corporate cousins at The Wall Street Journal editorial page, Baier suggested that President Joe Biden’s policies are equally or perhaps even more authoritarian than former President Donald Trump’s failed coup attempt and open plotting for revenge. Baier interviewed former Rep.
Right-wing media declare war on the Bidens' Christmas
Right-wing media immediately began attacking the Biden White House’s Christmas celebration after First Lady Jill Biden posted a video to social media showing a tap dance company performing among the White House decorations in costumes meant to represent the holiday classic The Nutcracker.
Meet Fox's Fake 'Democrat' -- An Anti-Vax Libertarian
Fox News has a long history of hosting conservative activists while presenting them as everyday American voters.
Meet Fox’s “Democrat voter”: An anti-vaxxer who says "Democrats are an automatic no-no for me”
Fox News has a long history of hosting conservative activists while presenting them as everyday American voters.
Fox News anchor Bret Baier acts like he’s never heard of Trump refusing to leave office
Fox News’ purported “straight news” anchor Bret Baier made a remarkable claim Tuesday morning, downplaying the ongoing concerns that former President Donald Trump, if he is elected again, would seek to crack down on his detractors and set up an authoritarian regime. While Baier professed not to see evidence for these fears, he left out the key detail that Trump’s term in office literally ended with an attempt to subvert the election result and hold onto power after losing in 2020.
Fox News misleads about its own reporter’s question to Biden
On the November 26 edition of Fox News Sunday, Fox News correspondent Lucas Tomlinson declared, “The oldest president in U.S. history also continues to face questions about his age, even here in Nantucket,” followed by video of President Joe Biden reacting to a yelled question — “Mr. President, are you too old to be running for reelection?” — which was clearly Tomlinson’s own voice.
New lawsuit sheds further light on Fox’s lies and distortions about the 2020 election and January 6 insurrection
The lawsuit lays out the history of Fox’s decision to elevate former President Donald Trump’s election lies and “purge” its news division of reporters and editors who spoke out against them. The complaint mentions that the network caved to right-wing backlash against then-political editor Chris Stirewalt for projecting a Joe Biden victory in Arizona on election night. The call was correct, but the network fired Stirewalt anyway. 11.
Fox host Mark Levin falsely says CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer’s parents “weren’t victims in one way or another of the Holocaust”
MARK LEVIN (HOST): I want you to listen to Wolf Blitzer, to Hakeem Jefferies on CNN yesterday. Wolf Blitzer, as I understand it, his parents weren’t victims in one way or another, of the Holocaust. But certainly his family comes out of that background — but you wouldn’t know it. Because the ideology of the left is very attractive. It’s very compelling, particularly if you’re in media. Wolf Blitzer, cut two with Hakeem Jeffries, go.
Study: National TV And Cable Networks Mostly Ignore Trump's Gaffes
National broadcast and cable networks are failing to cover a series of verbal gaffes and incoherent statements recently made by disgraced former President Donald Trump, the front-runner to win the Republican nomination again in 2024. As Media Matters has already extensively documented, media outlets have repeatedly obsessed over President Joe Biden's age since he announced his campaign for reelection.
National broadcast and cable networks are barely covering Trump’s recent gaffes and incoherent statements
As Media Matters has already extensively documented, media outlets have repeatedly obsessed over President Joe Biden's age since he announced his campaign for reelection. The same attention has not been given to his likely challenger, former President Donald Trump, even though the two men are nearly the same age.
Elon Musk’s X hits a tipping point, with widespread condemnation of misinformation about Hamas’ attack on Israel flooding the platform
According to disinformation experts and multiple news reports, the deluge of misinformation on Elon Musk’s social media platform X about Hamas’ attack on Israel was caused by changes that he made to the platform since taking over.
The laughable right-wing effort to compare Rep. Bowman to January 6 insurrectionists
Congress narrowly averted a federal shutdown on Saturday, voting to continue funding the government for 45 days. The move was a massive defeat for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans, who had sought to condition funding on both draconian spending cuts and permanent changes to immigration policy before ultimately folding and passing the extension with Democratic votes, and may trigger the speaker’s ouster in the days to come.
Fox News Digital ran with a hoax about Arizona's Democratic governor "mysteriously" disappearing
Fox News and other conservative media outlets ran with a baseless rumor that Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs had “mysteriously” disappeared from her office earlier this week, when in fact she had traveled to Washington for scheduled meetings. This bizarre turn elevated what should have been a pro forma notice about the functioning of state government, meriting no more than a slight acknowledgment in the local press, into a national embarrassment for right-wing media.
Fox’s Republican debate moderators have a long history of pushing biased and extremist commentary
Fox News has chosen two of its TV personalities, Stuart Varney and Dana Perino, as the moderators for Wednesday’s Fox Business Network/Univision Republican presidential debate. Both have pushed misinformation and extreme positions on key contemporary issues including workers’ rights and wages, immigration, and government shutdowns. On top of that, Varney has clearly picked a favorite candidate among those appearing at the Republican primary debate itself, promoting Florida Gov.
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