Topic: Media Research Center
As we show how the Media Research Center had a sad when Fox News fired Tucker Carlson, it's worth noting how much it was in Carlson's thrall -- even gushing over how he promoted misleading, cherry-picked video footage of the Capitol riot. In a Feb. 22 post, Nicholas Fondacaro spewed his usual misogyny in attacking "The View" for noting concerns about Kevin McCarthy giving unedited riot footage to Carlson:
The cackling coven of ABC’s The View was outraged on Wednesday after news broke that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gave Fox News host Tucker Carlson all 44,000 hours of footage from January 6. The gaggling gals were off the rails from the get-go with accusations that Carlson was a security risk who would reveal “evacuation points,” “safe rooms,” and security camera locations which would end up enabling another January 6 or 9/11.
“So, exactly how dangerous is it to let Tucker Carlson reset the narrative on January 6?” Joy Behar asked the hysterical faux conservative, Alyssa Farah Griffin.
Without evidence, Farah Griffin proclaimed that Carlson’s possession of the footage “raises huge safety and security concerns for the Capitol.”
[...]
Farah Griffin’s ridiculous suggestions about security threats were something the entire cast latched on to. “The biggest thing here is what Alyssa said before. The security risks, exposing the inside of the White House,” Sara Haines declared.
Insisting that Carlson had “nefarious intentions,” Haines also pushed the long-debunked accusation that Republican members of Congress had helped rioters scout the Capitol beforehand:
But they proved that they were giving tours – Congress people were giving tours before to show people exactly what we just – what was just now handed over to someone. And where there can be nothing good coming from it, they've investigated we’ve done everything we need to do. It's not only not going to add good, it actually only has bad intentions. It's – Nefarious intentions drive this request.
The cast of The View knew perfectly well those accusations were busted last year. Back in June 2022, they cried foul when the Capitol Police exonerated Congressman Barry Loudermilk (R-GA).
As we noted when Fondacaro originally attacked "The View" over this, Loudermilk originally falsely claimed there was no tour at all and subsequent evidence showed that tour participants -- at least one of them took part in the Capitol riot the next day -- took photos of non-touristy things like hallways and security checkpoints.
On Feb. 27, P.J. Gladnick falsely claimed that the media was not interested in obtaining video footage from the riot until it was given to Carlson:
Remember all the incessant demands by the liberal media for the security camera video footage of the Capitol ever since January 6, 2021? No? Perhaps because it never happened... until now. On the heels of the new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy turning over 40,000 hours of that video to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the liberal media suddenly has an urgent desire to see those videos right away.
In fact, the media have repeatedly sought access to video from the riot before it was given to Carlson.
When Carlson did release cherry-picked video from the stash, Tim Graham hyped them in his March 8 podcast while uncritically embracing the Tucker-endorsed narrative downplaying the riot:
The unglued freakout over Fox host Tucker Carlson airing Capitol Police clips of the January 6 riot underlines that the Left cannot stand any attempt to undercut the Pelosi-Picked Plotline. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer told Rupert Murdoch he shouldn't allow Carlson to air a second night of January 6 counter-testimony.
One of the most obnoxious critics was PBS star filmmaker Ken Burns, who compared Carlson (and Ron DeSantis) to both the Nazis and the Soviets. Burns said the videos in Carlson's hands were a "huge threat" to the Republic. Does this sound like someone who has even the most tenuous grasp of history?
These programs were not a momentous rewrite of history. The clips were not epic. But the media have clearly oversold January 6. The best clips were from the media and Democrats. Just hearing Vice President Kamala Harris compare it to Pearl Harbor and 9/11 shows how overwrought the Democrats are. On Tuesday, Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the podium: "The President has been very clear: January 6th was the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War." That implies 1/6 is worse than 9/11 and worse than Pearl Harbor.'
The Capitol riot was a very bad, violent day, and one we shouldn't forget. But it was not a "deadly insurrection." It wasn't like, for example, the Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018. The only person shot on January 6 was a protester named Ashli Babbitt. Does anyone remember her shooting by a Capitol policeman being discussed by the House panel in their curated hearings? No.
Tucker Carlson did raise alternative narratives and questions. Why were the Capitol Police so unprepared? Why was the "Q-Anon Shaman" sentenced to almost four years in jail when he wasn't violent? Why would the Pelosi Panel mislead the public on Sen. Josh Hawley seemingly running alone out of the Capitol? That’s not dangerous. That’s democracy. Why is the Left so arrogant that they cannot countenance anyone presenting an opposing view?
Says the guy whose job it is to attacking any view that opposes right-wing narratives. Also, Babbitt was a domestic terrorist who was part of a mob trying to enter through a broken door. We thought the MRC believed all mobs were violent and posed imminent danger to law enforcement.
Graham then spent a March 9 post ranting that a fact-checker pointed out that Carlson's video was indeed cherry-picked. He started with a gratuitous attack on the fact-checker for fact-checking things:
Tucker Carlson is clearly a hate figure in the offices of PolitiFact. Over the years, this is his "Truth-O-Meter" record: one "Mostly True," one "Half True," and 26 "Mostly False" or worse ratings (five "Mostly False, twelve "False" and NINE "Pants On Fire").
Now compare that to the other cable hosts in his hour. Chris Hayes, who's hosted an MSNBC show since 2011, has one "True" and one "Half True" (that one from 2011). CNN's Anderson Cooper, who's had a prime-time show from the founding of PolitiFact in 2007....doesn't have a page! That's zero "fact checks."
Graham didn't dispute the accuracy of any of those previous act-checks on Carlson. Then came the attack on the fact-check itself:
Unsurprisingly, the latest "Pants On Fire" from PolitiFact takes Carlson's January 6 riot videos, specifically the footage of the "Q-Anon Shaman" Jacob Chansley wandering the halls of the Capitol facing no visible resistance from police. Carlson said they basically acted as "tour guides" -- mocking the appearance without audio.
PolitiFact's Madison Czopek makes the point that what you don't hear is that the cops were trying to get Chansley to vacate the premises. "Capitol Police officers repeatedly asked Chansley and other rioters to leave the Capitol building, according to the plea agreement."
Graham then pushed a conspiracy theory that Chansley was set up to be a scapegoat:
Carlson was underlining that Chansley was non-violent, even if he wanted "justice" (whatever that means) for Mike Pence. "If he was in fact committing such a grave crime, why didn't the officers who were standing right next to him place him under arrest?" Why did they throw the book at non-violent Chansley with a 44-month jail sentence? Because he was "the face" of the riot.
We've noted that prosecutors pointed out how Carlson's selectively edited videos "did not show Chansley, who was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his actions on January 6, facing off with officers for half an hour outside the Senate chamber or when Chansley refused to be escorted out of the Capitol by an officer and only left after being forcibly removed," adding: "Chansley was not some passive, chaperoned observer of events for the roughly hour that he was unlawfully inside the Capitol. ... He was part of the initial breach of the building; he confronted law enforcement for roughly 30 minutes just outside the Senate Chamber; he gained access to the gallery of the Senate along with other members of the mob (obviously, precluding any Senate business from occurring); and he gained access to and later left the Senate floor only after law enforcement was able to arrive en masse to remove him.” But Graham would rather push a conspiracy theory that fits his narrative than tell the full truth.
The MRC also published columns by Cal Thomas and Ben Shapiro touting Carlson's edited videos.
