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The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in
all caps In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in l ...
, is an American multinational
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
news television channel based in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owned by the
Fox Corporation Fox Corporation (stylized in all-caps as FOX Corporation) is a publicly traded American mass media company operated and controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York City. Incorporated ...
. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at
1211 Avenue of the Americas 1211 Avenue of the Americas (also known as the News Corp. Building) is an International style skyscraper on Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Formerly called the ''Celanese Building'', it was completed in 1973 as part of the la ...
in
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...
. Fox News provides service to 86 countries and overseas territories worldwide, with international broadcasts featuring Fox Extra segments during ad breaks. The channel was created by Australian-American
media mogul A media proprietor, media mogul or media tycoon refers to a entrepreneur who controls, through personal ownership or via a dominant position in any media-related company or enterprise, media consumed by many individuals. Those with significant co ...
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
in 1996 to appeal to a conservative audience, hiring former
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
media consultant and
CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk s ...
executive
Roger Ailes Roger Eugene Ailes (May 15, 1940 – May 18, 2017) was an American television executive and media consultant. He was the chairman and CEO of Fox News, Fox Television Stations and 20th Television. Ailes was a media consultant for Republica ...
as its founding CEO. It launched on October 7, 1996, to 17 million cable
subscribers The subscription business model is a business model A business model describes how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value,''Business Model Generation'', Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, and 470 practitioners f ...
. Fox News grew during the late 1990s and 2000s to become the dominant
United States cable news Cable news channels are television networks devoted to television news broadcasts, with the name deriving from the proliferation of such networks during the 1980s with the advent of cable television. In the United States, the first nationwide ca ...
subscription network. , approximately 87,118,000 U.S. households (90.8% of television subscribers) received Fox News. In 2019, Fox News was the top-rated cable network, averaging 2.5 million viewers. , Murdoch is the executive chairman since 2016, and Suzanne Scott has been the CEO since 2018.
Fox News controversies Fox News is an American basic cable and satellite television channel owned by Fox Corporation. During its time on the air, it has been the subject of several controversies and allegations. Fox News has been described by academics, media figures ...
have included, among others, practicing
bias Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group ...
ed reporting in favor of the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...
, its politicians, and
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
causes, while portraying the Democratic Party in a negative light. Fox News has denied bias in its news reporting and the channel's official position is that its news reporting operates independently of its
opinion journalism Opinion journalism is journalism that makes no claim of objectivity. Although distinguished from advocacy journalism in several ways, both forms feature a subjective viewpoint, usually with some social or political purpose. Common examples inclu ...
. According to
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and th ...
, in 2019, 65 percent of Republicans and people who lean Republican trusted Fox News.


History

In May 1985, Australian publisher Rupert Murdoch announced that he and American
industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through per ...
and philanthropist
Marvin Davis Marvin H. Davis (August 31, 1925 – September 25, 2004) was an American industrialist. He made his fortunes as the chair of Davis Petroleum and at one time owned 20th Century Fox, the Pebble Beach Corporation, the Beverly Hills Hotel, and the ...
intended to develop "a network of independent stations as a fourth marketing force" to compete directly with
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
,
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
, and ABC through the purchase of six television stations owned by
Metromedia Metromedia (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in 1956 after the DuMon ...
. In July 1985,
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
announced Murdoch had completed his purchase of 50% of
Fox Filmed Entertainment Fox Entertainment Group was an American entertainment company specialised in filmed entertainment owned by 21st Century Fox. Following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, the group's assets were folded into various Disney units. The ...
, the parent company of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation. A year later, 20th Century Fox earned $5.6 million in its fiscal third period ended May 31, 1986, in contrast to a loss of $55.8 million in the third period of the previous year. Subsequently, and prior to founding FNC, Murdoch had gained experience in the 24-hour news business when
News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...
's
BSkyB Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
subsidiary began Europe's first 24-hour news channel (
Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the he ...
) in the United Kingdom in 1989. With the success of his efforts establishing Fox as a TV network in the United States, experience gained from Sky News and the turnaround of 20th Century Fox, Murdoch announced on January 30, 1996, that News Corp. would launch a 24-hour news channel on cable and satellite systems in the United States as part of a News Corp. "worldwide platform" for Fox programming: "The appetite for news – particularly news that explains to people how it affects them – is expanding enormously". In February 1996, after former U.S. Republican Party political strategist and NBC executive
Roger Ailes Roger Eugene Ailes (May 15, 1940 – May 18, 2017) was an American television executive and media consultant. He was the chairman and CEO of Fox News, Fox Television Stations and 20th Television. Ailes was a media consultant for Republica ...
left cable television channel
America's Talking America's Talking was an American short-lived cable television channel focused mainly on talk based programming, created by NBC and spun off from economic channel CNBC. It was launched on July 4, 1994, and was carried in 10 million American hous ...
(now
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
), Murdoch asked him to start Fox News Channel. Ailes demanded five months of 14-hour workdays and several weeks of rehearsal shows before its launch on October 7, 1996. At its debut 17 million households were able to watch FNC; however, it was absent from the largest U.S. media markets of New York City and Los Angeles. Rolling news coverage during the day consisted of 20-minute single-topic shows such as ''Fox on Crime'' or ''Fox on Politics'', surrounded by news headlines. Interviews featured facts at the bottom of the screen about the topic or the guest. The flagship newscast at the time was ''The Schneider Report'', with Mike Schneider's fast-paced delivery of the news. During the evening, Fox featured opinion shows: ''The O'Reilly Report'' (later ''
The O'Reilly Factor ''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...
''), ''The Crier Report'' (hosted by
Catherine Crier Catherine Jean Crier is an American journalist and author of ''A Deadly Game'' and ''The Case Against Lawyers''. She was the youngest elected state judge in Texas history at age thirty and served as a Texas State District Judge for the 162nd Di ...
) and ''
Hannity & Colmes ''Hannity & Colmes'' was a live television show on Fox News in the United States, hosted by Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, who respectively presented a conservative and liberal perspective. The series premiered on October 7, 1996, and the final e ...
''. From the beginning, FNC has placed heavy emphasis on visual presentation. Graphics were designed to be colorful and gain attention; this helped the viewer to grasp the main points of what was being said, even if they could not hear the host (with on-screen text summarizing the position of the interviewer or speaker, and "bullet points" when a host was delivering commentary). Fox News also created the "Fox News Alert", which interrupted its regular programming when a
breaking news Breaking news, interchangeably termed late-breaking news and also known as a special report or special coverage or news flash, is a current issue that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming or current news in orde ...
story occurred. To accelerate its adoption by cable providers, Fox News paid systems up to $11 per subscriber to distribute the channel. This contrasted with the normal practice, in which cable operators paid stations carriage fees for programming. When
Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...
bought
Ted Turner Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he ...
's
Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...
, a federal
antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust ...
consent decree required Time Warner to carry a second all-news channel in addition to its own CNN on its
cable systems Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadc ...
. Time Warner selected MSNBC as the secondary news channel, not Fox News. Fox News claimed this violated an agreement (to carry Fox News). Citing its agreement to keep its U.S. headquarters and a large studio in New York City, News Corporation enlisted the help of Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
's administration to pressure Time Warner Cable (one of the city's two cable providers) to transmit Fox News on a city-owned channel. City officials threatened to take action affecting Time Warner's cable franchises in the city. During the
September 11, 2001, attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
, Fox News was the first news organization to run a
news ticker A news ticker (sometimes called a "crawler", "crawl", "slide", "zipper", or "ticker tape") is a horizontal or vertical (depending on a language's writing system) text-based display either in the form of a graphic that typically resides in the lo ...
on the bottom of the screen to keep up with the flow of information that day. The ticker has remained, informing viewers about additional news which reporters may not mention on-screen and repeating news mentioned during a broadcast; it has proven popular with viewers. In January 2002, Fox News surpassed CNN in ratings for the first time.


Political alignment

Fox News has been described as practicing
partisan reporting Media bias is the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of many events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening of ...
in favor of the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...
, the George W. Bush and
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
administrations, and
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
causes, while portraying the Democratic Party in a negative light. Critics have argued that the channel is damaging to the integrity of news overall. Fox News has denied bias in its news reporting and the channel's official position is that its news reporting operates independently of its
opinion journalism Opinion journalism is journalism that makes no claim of objectivity. Although distinguished from advocacy journalism in several ways, both forms feature a subjective viewpoint, usually with some social or political purpose. Common examples inclu ...
. In the 2004 documentary ''
Outfoxed ''Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism'' is a 2004 documentary film by filmmaker Robert Greenwald about Fox News Channel's and its owner's, Rupert Murdoch, promotion of conservative views. The film says this bias belies the channel's mot ...
'', four people identified as former employees said that Fox News made them "slant the news in favor of conservatives". Fox News said that the film misrepresented the employment of these employees.


Outlets

FNC maintains an archive of most of its programs. This archive also includes
Movietone News Movietone News is a newsreel that ran from 1928 to 1963 in the United States. Under the name British Movietone News, it also ran in the United Kingdom from 1929 to 1986, in France also produced by Fox-Europa, in Australia and New Zealand until 197 ...
series of newsreels from its now Disney-owned namesake movie studio,
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
. Licensing for the Fox News archive is handled by ITN Source, the archiving division of ITN.


Television

FNC presents a variety of programming, with up to 15 hours of live broadcasting per day in addition to programming and content for the
Fox Broadcasting Company The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
. Most programs are broadcast from Fox News headquarters in New York City (at
1211 Avenue of the Americas 1211 Avenue of the Americas (also known as the News Corp. Building) is an International style skyscraper on Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Formerly called the ''Celanese Building'', it was completed in 1973 as part of the la ...
), in its streetside studio on
Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...
in the west wing of
Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...
, sharing its headquarters with sister channel
Fox Business Network Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenu ...
. Fox News Channel has eight studios at its New York City headquarters that are used for its and Fox Business' programming: Studio B (used for Fox Business programming), Studio D (which has an area for studio audiences; no longer in current use), Studio E (used for '' Gutfeld!'' and ''
The Journal Editorial Report The ''Journal Editorial Report'' is a weekly American interview and panel discussion TV program on Fox News Channel, hosted by Paul Gigot, editorial page editor of ''The Wall Street Journal''. Prior to moving to Fox News, the show aired on PBS fo ...
''), Studio F (used for ''
The Story with Martha MacCallum ''The Story with Martha MacCallum'', is an American television news/ talk program on Fox News Channel currently hosted by Martha MacCallum. Episodes aired live from 3p.m. ET/2p.m. CT on Monday through Friday. The show has been a part of the Fo ...
'', '' The Five'', Fox Democracy 2020, ''
Fox & Friends ''Fox & Friends'' is an American daily morning news and talk program that airs on Fox News. It premiered on February 1, 1998, and is currently hosted by Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade on weekdays. Will Cain, Rachel Campos- ...
'', '' Outnumbered'', ''The Faulkner Focus'', ''Fox News Primetime'', and ''
Watters' World Jesse Bailey Watters (born July 9, 1978) is an American conservative political commentator on Fox News. He frequently appeared on the political talk show '' The O'Reilly Factor'' and was known for his man-on-the-street interviews, featured in his ...
'') Studio G (which houses Fox Business shows, ''
The Fox Report The ''Fox Report'' is an American evening news broadcasting, television news program on Fox News, which debuted on September 13, 1999 as a seven-night-a-week broadcast with Shepard Smith as main anchor of the program until it was relegated to week ...
'', '' Your World with Neil Cavuto'', and ''
Cavuto Live ''Cavuto Live'' is a two-hour weekend news program focusing on the intersection of business and politics on Fox News. It is hosted by Neil Cavuto and debuted on January 20, 2018. The live show replaces the pre-recorded ''The Cost of Freedom'' bl ...
''), Studio H (Fox News Deck used for breaking news coverage, no longer in current use), Studio J (used for ''
America's Newsroom ''America's Newsroom'' is an American television hard news program on Fox News Channel currently hosted by Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino live from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. on Monday through Friday. The show focuses on the development of the day's events w ...
'', ''
Hannity ''Hannity'' is an American conservative television political talk program on Fox News hosted by Sean Hannity. Episodes air live at 9:00 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, while episodes that air on Fridays are pre-recorded, with a repea ...
'', '' Justice with Judge Jeanine'', ''
Fox News Live ''Fox News Live'' is an American news-talk television program, the hard-news daytime programming of the Fox News Channel. It also referred to the short headline segments of nearly every hour on Fox News. About The show featured news, guest analys ...
'', '' Fox & Friends First'', and '' Sunday Morning Futures'') Starting in , ''
Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 2 ...
'' had its pregame show, '' Fox NFL Thursday'', originating from Studio F. Another Fox Sports program, ''First Things First'', also broadcasts from Studio E. Other such programs (such as '' Special Report with Bret Baier'', ''
The Ingraham Angle ''The Ingraham Angle'' is an American conservative news and opinion-based talk show that premiered on October 30, 2017, on the Fox News channel. The show features Laura Ingraham, Raymond Arroyo, and guests discussing the day's latest issues, n ...
'', '' Fox News @ Night'', '' Media Buzz'', and editions of ''Fox News Live'' not broadcast from the New York City studios) are broadcast from Fox News's Washington, D.C. studios, located on
Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...
across from
Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
in a secured building shared by a number of other television networks (including
NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's v ...
and
C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
). ''
The Next Revolution ''The Next Revolution'' is a television program that debuted on the Fox News Channel on June 4, 2017. The hour-long weekly program is hosted by Steve Hilton, who served as a political adviser to former British prime minister David Cameron. The pro ...
'' is broadcast from Fox News' Los Angeles bureau studio, which is also used for news updates coming from L.A.. ''
Tucker Carlson Tonight ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' is an American talk show and current affairs program hosted by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson on the television network Fox News. The show premiered in November 2016 and includes political commentary, monolog ...
'' and '' Life, Liberty, & Levin'' are done from personal studios, in Maine and Virginia respectively. Audio simulcasts of the channel are aired on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. In an October 11, 2009, in a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' article, Fox said its hard-news programming runs from "9 AM to 4 PM and 6 to 8 PM on weekdays". However, it makes no such claims for its other broadcasts, which primarily consist of editorial journalism and commentary. Fox News Channel began broadcasting in the
720p 720p (1280×720 px; also called HD ready, standard HD or just HD) is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines/1280 columns and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HDTV (1.78:1). All major HDTV broadcas ...
resolution format on May 1, 2008. This format is available on all major cable and satellite providers. The Fox News Group produces ''
Fox News Sunday ''Fox News Sunday'' is a Sunday morning talk show that has aired on the broadcast Fox network since 1996, as a presentation of Fox News Channel. It is the only regularly scheduled Fox News program carried on the main Fox broadcast network. Ho ...
'', which airs on Fox Broadcasting and re-airs on FNC. Fox News also produces occasional special event coverage that is broadcast on FBC.


Radio

With the growth of the FNC, the company introduced a radio division,
Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, ...
, in 2003. Syndicated throughout the United States, the division provides short newscasts and talk radio programs featuring personalities from the television and radio divisions. In 2006, the company also introduced
Fox News Talk Fox News Talk is a satellite radio channel that showcases talk shows and news reports from Fox News Channel personalities, along with other Fox News and talk programming. Fox News Talk carries a combination of Fox News syndicated radio programming ...
, a
satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than t ...
station featuring programs syndicated by (and featuring) Fox News personalities.


Online

Introduced in December 1995, the Fox News website features news articles and videos about national and international news. Content on the website is divided into politics, media, U.S., and business. Fox News' articles are based on the network's broadcasts, reports from Fox affiliates and articles produced by other news agencies, such as the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...
. Articles are usually accompanied by a video related to the article. Fox News Latino is the version aimed at a
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
audience, although presented almost entirely in English, with a Spanish section. According to
NewsGuard NewsGuard is a journalism and technology tool that rates the credibility of news and information websites and tracks online misinformation. It operates a browser extension and mobile apps for consumers as well as services for businesses, includi ...
, "Much of FoxNews.com's content, particularly articles produced by beat reporters and broadcasts produced by network correspondents, is accurate and well-sourced ... However, FoxNews.com has regularly advanced false and misleading claims on topics including the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the
Russia-Ukraine war The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Rev ...
,
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
, and U.S. elections". In September 2008, FNC joined other channels in introducing a live streaming segment to its website: ''The Strategy Room'', designed to appeal to older viewers. It airs weekdays from 9 AM to 5 PM and takes the form of an informal discussion, with running commentary on the news. Regular discussion programs include ''Business Hour'', ''News With a View'' and ''God Talk''. In March 2009, ''The Fox Nation'' was launched as a website intended to encourage readers to post articles commenting on the news. Fox News Mobile is the portion of the FNC website dedicated to
streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...
news clips formatted for video-enabled mobile phones.


Fox Nation

In 2018, FNC announced that it would launch a
subscription video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
service known as
Fox Nation Fox Nation is an American subscription video on demand service. Announced on February 20, 2018, and launching on November 27 of that year, it is a companion to Fox News Channel carrying programming of interest to its audience, including origina ...
. It serves as a companion service to FNC, carrying original and acquired talk, documentary, and reality programming designed to appeal to Fox News viewers. Some of its original programs feature Fox News personalities and contributors.''''


Ratings and reception

In 2003, Fox News saw a large ratings jump during the early stages of the
U.S. invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
. At the height of the conflict, according to some reports, Fox News had as much as a 300% increase in viewership (averaging 3.3 million viewers daily). In 2004, Fox News' ratings for its broadcast of the
Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...
exceeded those of the three major broadcast networks. During President George W. Bush's address, Fox News attracted 7.3 million viewers nationally; NBC, ABC, and CBS had a viewership of 5.9 million, 5.1 million, and 5.0 million respectively. Between late 2005 and early 2006, Fox News saw a brief decline in ratings. One was in the second quarter of 2006, when it lost viewers for every prime-time program compared with the previous quarter. The audience for '' Special Report with Brit Hume'', for example, dropped 19%. Several weeks later, in the wake of the
2006 North Korean missile test Two rounds of North Korean missile tests were conducted on July 5, 2006. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) reportedly fired at least seven separate missiles. These included one long-range Taepodong-2 missile and sh ...
and the
2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...
, Fox saw a surge in viewership and remained the top-rated cable news channel. Fox produced eight of the top ten most-watched nightly cable news shows, with ''The O'Reilly Factor'' and ''
Hannity & Colmes ''Hannity & Colmes'' was a live television show on Fox News in the United States, hosted by Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, who respectively presented a conservative and liberal perspective. The series premiered on October 7, 1996, and the final e ...
'' finishing first and second respectively. FNC ranked No. 8 in viewership among all cable channels in 2006, and No. 7 in 2007. The channel ranked number one during the week of Barack Obama's election (November 3–9) in 2008, and reached the top spot again in January 2010 (during the week of the special Senate election in Massachusetts). Comparing Fox to its 24-hour-news-channel competitors, in May 2010, the channel drew an average daily prime-time audience of 1.8 million viewers (versus 747,000 for MSNBC and 595,000 for CNN). In September 2009, the
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and th ...
published a report on the public view of national news organizations. In the report, 72 percent of polled Republican Fox viewers rated the channel as "favorable", while 43 percent of polled Democratic viewers and 55 percent of all polled viewers shared that opinion. However, Fox was given the highest "unfavorable" rating of all national outlets studied (25 percent of all polled viewers). The report went on to say that "partisan differences in views of Fox News have increased substantially since 2007". In 2010, the
Wikipedia community The Wikipedia community, collectively known colloquially as Wikipedians, is an informal community that volunteers to create and maintain Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia. Since August 2012, the word "Wikipedian" has been an '' Oxford Diction ...
had its first major discussion on Fox News' reliability. The community decided that Fox News was politically biased, but generally reliable. A Public Policy Polling poll concluded in 2013 that positive perceptions of FNC had declined from 2010. 41% of polled voters said they trust it, down from 49% in 2010, while 46% said they distrust it, up from 37% in 2010. It was also called the "most trusted" network by 34% of those polled, more than had said the same of any other network. On the night of October 22, 2012, Fox set a record for its highest-rated telecast, with 11.5 million viewers for the third U.S. presidential debate. In prime time the week before, Fox averaged almost 3.7 million viewers with a total day average of 1.66 million viewers. In prime time and total day ratings for the week of April 15 to 21, 2013, Fox News, propelled by its coverage of the
Boston Marathon bombing The Boston Marathon bombing was a domestic terrorist attack that took place during the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Two terrorists, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, planted two homemade pressure cooker bombs, w ...
, was the highest-ranked network on U.S. cable television, for the first time since August 2005, when
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
hit the
Gulf Coast of the United States The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Missi ...
. January 2014 marked Fox News's 145th consecutive month as the highest-rated cable news channel. During that month, Fox News beat CNN and MSNBC combined in overall viewers in both prime time hours and the total day. In the third quarter of 2014, the network was the most-watched cable channel during prime time hours. During the final week of the campaign for the
United States elections, 2014 The 2014 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, in the middle of Democratic President Barack Obama's second term. Republicans retained control of the House of Representatives and won control of the Senate. Republica ...
, Fox News had the highest ratings of any cable channel, news or otherwise. On election night itself, Fox News' coverage had higher ratings than that of any of the other five cable or network news sources among viewers between 25 and 54 years of age. The network hosted the first prime-time GOP candidates' forum of the 2016 campaign on August 6. The debate reached a record-breaking 24 million viewers, by far the largest audience for any cable news event. A 2017 study by the
Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society is a research center at Harvard University that focuses on the study of cyberspace. Founded at Harvard Law School, the center traditionally focused on internet-related legal issues. On May 15, 2008, ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
found that Fox News was the third most-shared source among supporters of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
during the
2016 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...
, behind ''The Hill'' and ''
Breitbart News ''Breitbart News Network'' (known commonly as ''Breitbart News'', ''Breitbart'', or ''Breitbart.com'') is an Radical right (United States), American far-rightMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * syndicated news, opinion, and commentary ...
''. In 2018, Fox News was rated by Nielsen as America's most watched cable network, averaging a record 2.4 million viewers in prime time and total day during the period of January 1 to December 30, 2018. In an October 2018
Simmons Research Experian is an American–Irish multinational data analytics and consumer credit reporting company. Experian collects and aggregates information on over 1 billion people and businesses including 235 million individual U.S. consumers and more ...
survey of the trust in 38 news organizations, Fox News was ranked roughly in the center, with 44.7% of surveyed Americans saying they trusted it. The
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
led to increased viewership for all cable news networks. For the first calendar quarter of 2020 (January 1 – March 31), Fox News had their highest-rated quarter in the network's history, with Nielsen showing a prime time average total audience of 3.387 million viewers.
Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of '' The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commen ...
's program, ''
Hannity ''Hannity'' is an American conservative television political talk program on Fox News hosted by Sean Hannity. Episodes air live at 9:00 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, while episodes that air on Fridays are pre-recorded, with a repea ...
'', weeknights at 9 pm ET was the top-rated show in cable news for the quarter averaging 4.2 million viewers, a figure that not only beat out all of its cable news competition but also placed it ahead of network competition in the same time slot. Fox ended the quarter with the top five shows in prime time, with Fox's ''
Tucker Carlson Tonight ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' is an American talk show and current affairs program hosted by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson on the television network Fox News. The show premiered in November 2016 and includes political commentary, monolog ...
'' finishing the quarter in second overall with an average audience of 4.2 million viewers, followed by '' The Five'', ''
The Ingraham Angle ''The Ingraham Angle'' is an American conservative news and opinion-based talk show that premiered on October 30, 2017, on the Fox News channel. The show features Laura Ingraham, Raymond Arroyo, and guests discussing the day's latest issues, n ...
'', and '' Special Report with Bret Baier''. ''
The Rachel Maddow Show ''The Rachel Maddow Show'' (also abbreviated ''TRMS'') is an American liberal news and opinion television program that airs on MSNBC, running in the 9:00 pm ET timeslot Monday evenings. It is hosted by Rachel Maddow, who gained a public p ...
'' was the highest non-Fox show on cable, coming in sixth place. Finishing the quarter in 22nd place was '' The Lead with Jake Tapper'', CNN's highest rated show. According to a Fox News article on the subject, ''Fox & Friends'' averaged 1.8 million viewers, topping CNN's '' New Day'' and MSNBC's ''
Morning Joe ''Morning Joe'' is an American morning news and liberal talk show, airing weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the cable news channel MSNBC. It features former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough reporting and discu ...
'' combined. The same Fox News article said that the
Fox Business Network Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenu ...
also had its highest-rated quarter in history and that Fox News finished March as the highest-rated network in cable for the 45th consecutive month. In July 2020, the Wikipedia community announced that Fox News would no longer be considered "generally reliable" in its reporting of science and politics, and that it "should be used with caution to verify contentious claims" for those topics. The decision was made due to Fox News downplaying the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as allegations of Fox News spreading misinformation about
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
and reporting on the false concept of "no-go zones" for non-Muslims in British cities. The decision did not affect Fox News' reliability on other topics. According to the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' on August 19, 2020: "Fox News Channel had six of last week's 11 highest-rated prime-time programs to finish first in the network ratings race for the third time since June" 2020. A
Morning Consult Morning Consult is a global decision intelligence company established in 2014. It was named one of the fastest growing technology companies in North America by Deloitte in both 2018 and 2019 and was valued at more than one billion dollars in Jun ...
survey the week after
Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ...
2020 showed 30 percent of Republicans in the United States had an unfavorable opinion of Fox News, while 54 percent of Republicans viewed the network favorably, compared to 67 percent before the election. A
McClatchy The McClatchy Company, commonly referred to as simply McClatchy, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states and ...
news story suggested criticism from Donald Trump as a major reason, as well as the network's early calling of
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
for Joe Biden, and later joining other networks in declaring Biden the winner of the 2020 election. Ratings were also down for Fox News. Although it remained ahead of other networks overall, its morning show fell out of first place for the first time since 2001. Trump recommended OANN, which was gaining viewers. Newsmax was also increasing in popularity. Following a decline in ratings post- 2020 U.S. presidential election, in 2021, Fox News regained its lead in cable news ratings ahead of CNN and MSNBC. In 2022, the Wikipedia community announced that Fox News would now be considered "marginally reliable" in its reporting of science and politics, that Fox News cannot be used as a source for "exceptional claims", and that its reliability would be decided on an individual case-by-case basis for other scientific and political claims. The decision only applies to news articles on Fox News' website and does not apply to Fox News articles about topics that are not scientific or political.


Demographics

As indicated by a ''New York Times'' article, based on Nielsen statistics, Fox appears to have a mostly aged demographic. In 2008, in the 25–54 age group, Fox News had an average of 557,000 viewers, but dropped to 379,000 in 2013 while increasing its overall audience from 1.89 million in 2010 to 2.02 million in 2013. The median age of a prime-time viewer was 68 . A 2019
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and th ...
survey showed that among those who named Fox News as their main source for political news, 69% are aged 50 or older. According to a 2013
Gallup Gallup may refer to: * Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll * Gallup (surname), a surname *Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States ** Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New ...
poll, 94% of Fox viewers "either identify as or lean Republican". The 2019 Pew survey showed that among people who named Fox News as their main source for political and election news, 93% identify as Republicans. Among the top eight political news sources named by at least 2% of American adults, the results show Fox News and
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
as the two news channels with the most partisan audiences.


Slogan

Fox News Channel originally used the slogan "Fair and Balanced", which was coined by network co-founder Roger Ailes while the network was being established. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described the slogan as being a "blunt signal that Fox News planned to counteract what Mr. Ailes and many others viewed as a
liberal bias Media bias is the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of many events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening of ...
ingrained in television coverage by establishment news networks". In a 2013 interview with Peter Robinson of the
Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, a ...
, Rupert Murdoch defended the company's "Fair and Balanced" slogan saying "In fact, you'll find just as many Democrats as Republicans on and so on". In August 2003, Fox News
sued - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil acti ...
comedian
Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...
over his use of the slogan as a subtitle for his book, '' Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right'', which is critical of Fox News Channel. The lawsuit was dropped three days later, after Judge
Denny Chin Denny Chin (陳卓光; born April 13, 1954) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based in New York City. He was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court f ...
refused its request for an
injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in p ...
. In his decision, Chin ruled the case was "wholly without merit, both factually and legally". He went on to suggest that Fox News' trademark on the phrase "fair and balanced" could be invalid. In December 2003, FNC won a legal battle concerning the slogan, when
AlterNet AlterNet is a left-leaning online news outlet. It was launched in 1997 by the Independent Media Institute. In 2018, the website was acquired by owners of '' Raw Story''. Coverage Coverage is divided into several special sections related to progr ...
filed a cancellation petition with the
United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...
(USPTO) to have FNC's trademark rescinded as inaccurate. AlterNet included Robert Greenwald's documentary film ''Outfoxed'' (2004) as supporting evidence in its case.Coyle, Jake (July 19, 2004). "Advocacy Groups Challenge Fox News Slogan". Associated Press. After losing early motions, AlterNet withdrew its petition; the USPTO dismissed the case. In 2008, FNC used the slogan "We Report, You Decide", referring to "You Decide 2008" (FNC's original slogan for its coverage of election issues). In August 2016, Fox News Channel began to quietly phase out the "Fair and Balanced" slogan in favor of "Most Watched, Most Trusted"; when these changes were reported in June 2017 by
Gabriel Sherman Gabriel Sherman is an American author. In 2014, he wrote a biography about Fox News Channel president Roger Ailes called '' The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News – and Divided a Country'', whic ...
(a writer who had written a biography on Ailes), a network executive said the change "has nothing to do with programming or editorial decisions". It was speculated by media outlets that Fox News Channel was wishing to distance itself from Ailes' tenure at the network. In March 2018, the network introduced a new ad campaign, ''Real News. Real Honest Opinion.'' The ad campaign is intended to promote the network's opinion-based programming and counter perceptions surrounding "
fake news Fake news is false or misleading information presented as news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue.Schlesinger, Robert (April 14, 2017)"Fake news in reality ...
". In mid-November 2020, following the election, Fox News began to use the slogan "Standing Up For What's Right" to promote its primetime lineup.


Content


Benghazi attack and aftermath

Fox News provided extensive coverage of the
2012 Benghazi attack The 2012 Benghazi attack was a coordinated attack against two United States government facilities in Benghazi, Libya, by members of the Islamic militant group Ansar al-Sharia. On September 11, 2012, at 9:40 pm local time, members of Ansar al ...
, which host Sean Hannity described in December 2012 as "the story that the mainstream media ignores" and "obviously, a cover-up. And we will get to the bottom of it." Programming analysis by media watchdog
Media Matters Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a politically left-leaning 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization and media watchdog group. MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media ...
, which has declared a "War on Fox News", found that during the twenty months following the Benghazi attacks, FNC ran 1,098 segments on the issue, including: * 478 segments involving Susan Rice's September 16, 2012, Sunday news show appearances, during which she was falsely accused of lying * 382 segments on ''
Special Report Breaking news, interchangeably termed late-breaking news and also known as a special report or special coverage or news flash, is a news, current issue that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming or current news in ...
'', the network's flagship news program * 281 segments alleging a "cover-up" by the Obama administration * 144 interviews of GOP members of Congress, but five interviews of Democratic members of Congress and Obama administration officials * 120 comparisons to Iran-Contra,
Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continu ...
, and the actions of the Nixon administration * 100 segments falsely suggesting the administration issued a "stand-down order" to prevent a rescue operation in Benghazi Over nearly four years after the Benghazi attack, there were ten official investigations, including six by Republican-controlled House committees. None of the investigations found any evidence of scandal, cover-up or lying by Obama administration officials.


Uranium One

From 2015 into 2018, Fox News broadcast extensive coverage of an alleged scandal surrounding the sale of
Uranium One Uranium One is an international group of companies, part of the management circuit of the TENEX Group of Rosatom State Corporation. Since 2013, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Moscow-based Uranium One Group, a part of the Russian state-owned nu ...
to Russian interests, which host Sean Hannity characterized as "one of the biggest scandals in American history". According to Media Matters, the Fox News coverage extended throughout the programming day, with particular emphasis by Hannity. The network promoted an ultimately unfounded narrative asserting that, as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton personally approved the Uranium One sale in exchange for $145 million in bribes paid to the
Clinton Foundation The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was es ...
.
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
repeated these allegations as a candidate and as president. No evidence of wrongdoing by Clinton had been found after four years of allegations, an FBI investigation, and the 2017 appointment of a Federal attorney to evaluate the investigation. In November 2017, Fox News host
Shepard Smith David Shepard Smith Jr. (born January 14, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist. He served as chief general news anchor and host of '' The News with Shepard Smith'' on CNBC, a daily evening newscast launched in late September 2020; but his ...
concisely debunked the alleged scandal, infuriating viewers who suggested he should work for CNN or MSNBC. Hannity later called Smith "clueless", while Smith stated: "I get it, that some of our opinion programming is there strictly to be entertaining. I get that. I don't work there. I wouldn't work there."


Pro-Republican and pro-Trump bias

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...
has been described as a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
media, and as providing biased reporting in favor of conservative political positions, the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...
, and President Donald Trump. Political scientist Jonathan Bernstein described Fox News as an expanded part of the Republican Party. Political scientists Matt Grossmann and David A. Hopkins wrote that Fox News helped "Republicans communicate with their base and spread their ideas, and they have been effective in mobilizing voters to participate in midterm elections (as in 2010 and 2014)." Prior to 2000, Fox News lacked an ideological tilt, and had more Democrats watch the channel than Republicans. During the
2004 United States presidential election The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W. Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Che ...
, Fox News was markedly more hostile in its coverage of Democratic presidential nominee
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...
, and distinguished itself among cable news outlets for heavy coverage of the Swift Boat smear campaign against Kerry. During President Obama's first term in office, Fox News helped launch and amplify the
Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget def ...
, a conservative movement within the Republican Party that organized protests against Obama and his policies. During the Republican primaries, Fox News was perceived as trying to prevent Trump from clinching the nomination. Under Trump's presidency, Fox News remade itself into his image, as hardly any criticism of Trump could be heard on Fox News' prime-time shows. In Fox News' news reporting, the network dedicated far more coverage to Hillary Clinton-related stories, which critics argued was intended to deflect attention from the investigation into
Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections The Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with the goals of harming the campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the candidacy of Donald Trump, and increasing political and social discord in the United States. Ac ...
. Trump provided significant access to Fox News during his presidency, giving 19 interviews to the channel while only 6 in total to other news channels by November 2017; ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described Trump's Fox News interviews as "softball interviews" and some of the interviewers' interview styles as "fawning". In July 2018, ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'' has described the network's coverage of Trump's presidency as "reliably fawning". From 2015 to 2017, the Fox News prime-time line-up changed from being skeptical and questioning of Trump to a "Trump safe space, with a dose of Bannonist populism once considered on the fringe". The Fox News website has also become more extreme in its rhetoric since Trump's election; according to
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
's Tow Center for Digital Journalism, the Fox News website has "gone a little ''
Breitbart ''Breitbart News Network'' (known commonly as ''Breitbart News'', ''Breitbart'', or ''Breitbart.com'') is an Radical right (United States), American far-rightMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * syndicated news, opinion, and commentary ...
''" over time. At the start of 2018, Fox News mostly ignored high-profile scandals in the Trump administration which received ample coverage in other national media outlets, such as White House Staff Secretary
Rob Porter Robert Roger Porter (born October 25, 1977) is an American lawyer and former political aide who served as White House Staff Secretary for President Donald Trump from January 20, 2017, until February 7, 2018. He was previously Chief of Staff for ...
's resignation amid domestic abuse allegations, the downgrading of
Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He served as a senior advisor to 45th U.S. president Donald Trump, his father-in-law. Since leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a priv ...
's security clearance, and the existence of a
non-disclosure agreement A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wis ...
between Trump and the porn star
Stormy Daniels Stephanie Gregory Clifford (born March 17, 1979), known professionally as Stormy Daniels, is an American pornographic film actress and director, and former stripper. She has won numerous industry awards, and is a member of the NightMoves, AVN ...
. In March 2019,
Jane Mayer Jane Meredith Mayer (born 1955) is an American investigative journalist who has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1995. She has written for the publication about money in politics; government prosecution of whistleblowers; the Uni ...
reported in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' that Fox News.com reporter Diana Falzone had the story of the
Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal On January 12, 2018, '' The Wall Street Journal'' reported that in October 2016, just before the 2016 United States presidential election, Michael Cohen, lawyer for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, arranged a payment of $130,000 to ad ...
before the 2016 election, but that Fox News executive Ken LaCorte told her: "Good reporting, kiddo. But Rupert urdochwants Donald Trump to win. So just let it go." The story was killed; LaCorte denied making the statement to Falzone, but conceded: "I was the person who made the call. I didn't run it upstairs to Roger Ailes or others. ... I didn't do it to protect Donald Trump." She added that " alzonehad put up a story that just wasn't anywhere close to being something I was comfortable publishing." Nik Richie, who claimed to be one of the sources for the story, called LaCorte's account "complete bullshit", adding that "Fox News was culpable. I voted for Trump, and I like Fox, but they did their own ' catch and kill' on the story to protect him." A 2008 study found Fox News gave disproportionate attention to polls suggesting low approval for President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
. A 2009 study found Fox News was less likely to pick up stories that reflected well on Democrats, and more likely to pick up stories that reflected well on Republicans. A 2010 study comparing Fox News Channel's ''Special Report With Brit Hume'' and NBC's '' Nightly News'' coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan during 2005 concluded "Fox News was much more sympathetic to the administration than NBC", suggesting "if scholars continue to find evidence of a partisan or ideological bias at FNC ... they should consider Fox as alternative, rather than mainstream, media". Research finds that Fox News increases Republican vote shares and makes Republican politicians more partisan. A 2007 study, using the introduction of Fox News into local markets (1996–2000) as an instrumental variable, found that in the 2000 presidential election "Republicans gained 0.4 to 0.7 percentage points in the towns that broadcast Fox News", suggesting "Fox News convinced 3 to 28 percent of its viewers to vote Republican, depending on the audience measure". These results were confirmed by a 2015 study. A 2014 study, using the same instrumental variable, found congressional "representatives become less supportive of President Clinton in districts where Fox News begins broadcasting than similar representatives in similar districts where Fox News was not broadcast." Another 2014 paper found Fox News viewing increased Republican vote shares among voters who identified as Republican or independent. A 2017 study, using channel positions as an instrumental variable, found "Fox News increases Republican vote shares by 0.3 points among viewers induced into watching 2.5 additional minutes per week by variation in position." This study used a different metodhology for a later period and found an ever bigger effect and impact, leading
Matthew Yglesias Matthew Yglesias (; born May 18, 1981) is a liberal American blogger and journalist who writes about economics and politics. Yglesias has written columns and articles for publications such as ''The American Prospect'', ''The Atlantic'', and ''Sla ...
to write in the ''
Political Communication Political communication is a subfield of communication and political science that is concerned with how information spreads and influences politics, policy makers, the news media, and citizens. Since the advent of the World Wide Web, the amoun ...
'' academic journal that they "suggest that conventional wisdom may be greatly underestimating the significance of Fox as a factor in American politics." Fox News publicly denies it is biased, with Murdoch and Ailes saying to have included Murdoch's statement that Fox has "given room to both sides, whereas only one side had it before". In June 2009, Fox News host
Chris Wallace Christopher Wallace (born October 12, 1947) is an American broadcast journalist. He is known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews, for which he is often compared to his father, ''60 Minutes'' journalist Mike Wallace. Over his 50-year care ...
said: "I think we are the counter-weight
o NBC News O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...
... they have a liberal agenda, and we tell the other side of the story." In 2004, Robert Greenwald's documentary film ''Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism'' argued Fox News had a conservative bias and featured clips from Fox News and internal memos from editorial vice president John Moody directing Fox News staff on how to report certain subjects. A leaked memo from Fox News vice president
Bill Sammon Bill Sammon is a former managing editor and vice president for Fox News, as well as an author and newspaper columnist. He had previously worked as White House correspondent for ''The Washington Times'' and the ''Washington Examiner'' before joini ...
to news staff at the height of the
health care reform in the United States Healthcare reform in the United States has a long history. Reforms have often been proposed but have rarely been accomplished. In 2010, landmark reform was passed through two federal statutes enacted in 2010: the Patient Protection and Affordab ...
debate has been cited as an example of the pro-
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...
bias of Fox News. His memo asked the staff to "use the term 'government-run health insurance,' or, when brevity is a concern, 'government option,' whenever possible". The memo was sent shortly after Republican pollster
Frank Luntz Frank Ian Luntz (born February 23, 1962) is an American political and communications consultant and pollster, best known for developing talking points and other messaging for Republican causes. His work has included assistance with messaging ...
advised
Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of '' The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commen ...
on his Fox show: "If you call it a public option, the American people are split. If you call it the government option, the public is overwhelmingly against it." Surveys suggest Fox News is widely perceived to be ideological. A 2009 Pew survey found Fox News is viewed as the most ideological channel in America, with 47 percent of those surveyed said Fox News is "mostly conservative", 14 percent said "mostly liberal" and 24 percent said "neither". In comparison,
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
had 36 percent identify it as "mostly liberal", 11 percent as "mostly conservative" and 27 percent as "neither". CNN had 37 percent describe it as "mostly liberal", 11 percent as "mostly conservative" and 33 percent as "neither". A 2004
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and th ...
survey found FNC was cited (unprompted) by 69 percent of national journalists as a conservative news organization. A
Rasmussen The surname Rasmussen () is a Danish and Norwegian surname, meaning '' Rasmus' son''. It is the ninth-most-common surname in Denmark, shared by about 1.9% of the population.
poll found 31 percent of Americans felt Fox News had a conservative bias, and 15 percent that it had a liberal bias. It found 36 percent believed Fox News delivers news with neither a conservative or liberal bias, compared with 37 percent who said
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
delivers news with no conservative or liberal bias and 32 percent who said the same of CNN. David Carr, media critic for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', praised the
2012 United States presidential election The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were re ...
results coverage on Fox News for the network's response to Republican adviser and Fox News contributor
Karl Rove Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist. He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on Augu ...
challenging its call that
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
would win Ohio and the election. Fox's prediction was correct. Carr wrote: "Over many months, Fox lulled its conservative base with agitprop: that President Obama was a clear failure, that a majority of Americans saw ittRomney as a good alternative in hard times, and that polls showing otherwise were politically motivated and not to be believed. But on Tuesday night, the people in charge of Fox News were confronted with a stark choice after it became clear that Mr. Romney had fallen short: was Fox, first and foremost, a place for advocacy or a place for news? In this moment, at least, Fox chose news." A May 2017 study conducted by
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy examined coverage of Trump's first 100 days in office by several major mainstream media outlets including Fox. It found Trump received 80% negative coverage from the overall media, and received the least negative coverage on Fox – 52% negative and 48% positive. On March 14, 2017,
Andrew Napolitano Andrew Peter Napolitano (born June 6, 1950) is an American syndicated columnist whose work appears in numerous publications, including ''The Washington Times'' and ''Reason''. He was an analyst for Fox News, commenting on legal news and trials. ...
, a Fox News commentator, claimed on ''Fox & Friends'' that British intelligence agency
GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ, is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the Uni ...
had wiretapped Trump on behalf of Barack Obama during the
2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticke ...
. On March 16, 2017, White House spokesman
Sean Spicer Sean Michael Spicer (born September 23, 1971) is a former American political aide who served as the 30th White House Press Secretary and as White House Communications Director under President Donald Trump in 2017. Spicer was communications dire ...
repeated the claim. When Trump was questioned about the claim at a news conference, he said "All we did was quote a certain very talented legal mind who was the one responsible for saying that on television. I didn't make an opinion on it." On March 17, 2017,
Shepard Smith David Shepard Smith Jr. (born January 14, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist. He served as chief general news anchor and host of '' The News with Shepard Smith'' on CNBC, a daily evening newscast launched in late September 2020; but his ...
, a Fox News anchor, admitted the network had no evidence that Trump was under surveillance. British officials said the White House was backing off the claim. Napolitano was later suspended by Fox News for making the claim. In June 2018, Fox News executives instructed producers to head off inappropriate remarks made on the shows aired by the network by hosts and commentators. The instructions came after a number of Fox News hosts and guests made incendiary comments about the Trump administration's policy of separating migrant children from their parents. Fox News host
Laura Ingraham Laura Anne Ingraham (born June 19, 1963) is an American conservative television host. Gale Biography In Context. She has been the host of '' The Ingraham Angle'' on Fox News Channel since October 2017, and is the editor-in-chief of LifeZette ...
had likened the child detention centers that the children were in to "summer camps". Guest
Corey Lewandowski Corey R. Lewandowski (; born September 18, 1973) is an American political operative, lobbyist, political commentator and author who is politically associated primarily with Donald Trump. He was the first campaign manager of Trump's 2016 presi ...
mocked the story of a 10-year-old child with
Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual d ...
being separated from her mother; the Fox News host did not address Lewandowski's statement. Guest
Ann Coulter Ann Hart Coulter (; born December 8, 1961) is an American conservative media pundit, author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She became known as a media pundit in the late 1990s, appearing in print and on cable news as an outspoken critic of ...
falsely claimed that the separated children were "child actors"; the Fox News host did not challenge her claim. In a segment on Trump's alleged use of racial dog whistles, one Fox News contributor told an African-American whom he was debating: "You're out of your cotton-picking mind." According to the 2016 book ''Asymmetric Politics'' by political scientists Matt Grossmann and David A. Hopkins, "Fox News tends to raise the profile of scandals and controversies involving Democrats that receive scant attention in other media, such as the relationship between Barack Obama and William Ayers ... Hillary Clinton's role in the fatal 2012 attacks on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya; the gun-running scandal known as 'Fast and Furious'; the business practices of federal loan guarantee recipient
Solyndra Solyndra was a manufacturer of cylindrical panels of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin film solar cells based in Fremont, California. Heavily promoted as a leader in the sustainable energy sector for its unusual technology, Solyndra w ...
; the past activism of Obama White House operative
Van Jones Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones (born September 20, 1968) is an American news and political commentator, author, and lawyer. He is the co-founder of several non-profit organizations, a three-time ''New York Times'' bestselling author, a CNN host and c ...
; the 2004 attacks on John Kerry by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth; the controversial sermons of Obama's Chicago pastor Jeremiah Wright; the filming of undercover videos of supposed wrongdoing by the liberal activist group ACORN; and the 'war on Christmas' supposedly waged every December by secular, multicultural liberals." In October 2018, Fox News ran laudatory coverage of a meeting between Trump-supporting rapper
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
and President Trump in the
Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped roo ...
. Fox News had previously run negative coverage of rappers and their involvement with Democratic politicians and causes, such as when Fox News ran headlines describing conscious hip-hop artist
Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...
as "vile" and a "cop-killer rapper", and when Fox News ran negative coverage of Kanye West before he became a Trump supporter. On November 4, 2018, Trump's website, DonaldJTrump.com, announced in a press release that Fox News host Sean Hannity would make a "special guest appearance" with Trump at a midterm campaign rally the following night in
Cape Girardeau, Missouri Cape Girardeau ( , french: Cap-Girardeau ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 census, the population was 39,540. The city is one of two principal citi ...
. The following morning, Hannity tweeted "To be clear, I will not be on stage campaigning with the President." Hannity appeared at the president's lectern on stage at the rally, immediately mocking the "fake news" at the back of the auditorium, Fox News reporters among them. Several Fox News employees expressed outrage at Hannity's actions, with one stating that "a new line was crossed". Hannity later asserted that his action was not pre-planned, and Fox News stated it "does not condone any talent participating in campaign events". Fox News host
Jeanine Pirro Jeanine Ferris Pirro (born June 2, 1951) is an American television host, author, and a former New York State judge, prosecutor, and politician. Pirro was the host of Fox News Channel's ''Justice with Judge Jeanine'' until 2022 when she became ...
also appeared on stage with Trump at the rally. The Trump press release was later removed from Trump's website. Fox News released a poll of registered voters, jointly conducted by two polling organizations, on June 16, 2019. The poll found some unfavorable results for Trump, including a record high 50% thought the Trump campaign had coordinated with the Russian government, and 50% thought he should be impeached – 43% saying he should also be removed from office – while 48% said they did not favor impeachment. The next morning on '' Fox & Friends First'', host
Heather Childers Heather Star Childers is an American television news anchor. She was a former anchor of the first hour of '' Fox & Friends First'' for Fox News Channel, and worked for the organization from 2010 until 2020. She currently co-anchors ''American Age ...
twice misrepresented the poll results, stating "a new Fox News poll shows most voters don't want impeachment" and "at least half of U.S. voters do not think President Trump should be impeached," while the on-screen display of the actual poll question was also incorrect. Later that morning on ''
America's Newsroom ''America's Newsroom'' is an American television hard news program on Fox News Channel currently hosted by Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino live from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. on Monday through Friday. The show focuses on the development of the day's events w ...
'', the on-screen display showed the correct poll question and results, but highlighted the 48% of respondents who opposed impeachment rather than the 50% who supported it (the latter being broken-out into two figures). As host Bill Hemmer drew guest
Byron York Byron York (born December 5, 1955) is an American conservative correspondent, pundit, columnist, and author. Education York holds a B.A. from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and an M.A. from the University of Chicago. Career York ...
's attention to the 48% opposed figure, they did not discuss the 50% support figure, while the on-screen chyron read: "Fox News Poll: 43% Support Trump's Impeachment and Removal, 48% Oppose." Later that day, Trump tweeted: "@FoxNews Polls are always bad for me...Something weird going on at Fox." In April 2017, it became known that former Obama administration national security advisor
Susan Rice Susan Elizabeth Rice (born November 17, 1964) is an American diplomat, policy advisor, and public official serving as Director of the United States Domestic Policy Council since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Rice served as the 27th U.S ...
sought the unmasking of Trump associates who were unidentified in intelligence reports, notably Trump's incoming national security advisor
Michael Flynn Michael Thomas Flynn (born December 24, 1958) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and conspiracy theorist who was the 24th U.S. National Security Advisor for the first 22 days of the Trump administration. He resigned in light of ...
, during the presidential transition. In May 2020, acting
Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior, cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Co ...
Richard Grenell, a Trump loyalist, declassified a list of Obama administration officials who had also requested unmasking of Trump associates, which was subsequently publicly released by Republican senators. That month, attorney general Bill Barr appointed federal prosecutor
John Bash John Franklin Bash III is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas from 2017 to 2020. Early life and education In 2003, Bash graduated from Harvard Co ...
to examine the unmaskings. Fox News primetime hosts declared the unmaskings a "domestic spying operation" for which the Obama administration was "exposed" in the "biggest abuse of power" in American history. The Bash inquiry closed months later with no findings of substantive wrongdoing. However, certain Fox personalities have not had as much of a favorable reception from Trump: news anchors
Shepard Smith David Shepard Smith Jr. (born January 14, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist. He served as chief general news anchor and host of '' The News with Shepard Smith'' on CNBC, a daily evening newscast launched in late September 2020; but his ...
(who retired from Fox in 2019) and
Chris Wallace Christopher Wallace (born October 12, 1947) is an American broadcast journalist. He is known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews, for which he is often compared to his father, ''60 Minutes'' journalist Mike Wallace. Over his 50-year care ...
have been criticised by Trump for allegedly being adversarial, alongside Fox analyst
Andrew Napolitano Andrew Peter Napolitano (born June 6, 1950) is an American syndicated columnist whose work appears in numerous publications, including ''The Washington Times'' and ''Reason''. He was an analyst for Fox News, commenting on legal news and trials. ...
, who said Trump's actions in the
Trump–Ukraine scandal The "Trump–Ukraine scandal" refers to efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to coerce Ukraine and other countries into providing damaging narratives about 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden, and giving misinformatio ...
were "both criminal and impeachable behavior". Trump was also critical of the network hiring former DNC chair
Donna Brazile Donna Lease Brazile (; born December 15, 1959) is an American political strategist, campaign manager and political analyst who served twice as acting Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). She is currently an ABC News contributor, an ...
, in 2019. The relationship between Trump and Fox News, as well as other
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
-controlled outlets, soured following the
2020 United States presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala H ...
, as Trump refused to concede that Joe Biden had been elected President-elect. This negative tonal shift led to increased viewership of Newsmax and
One America News One America News Network (OANN), also known as One America News (OAN), is a far-right, pro-Trump cable news channel founded by Robert Herring Sr. and owned by Herring Networks, Inc., that launched on July 4, 2013. The network is headquartered ...
among Trump and his supporters due to their increased antipathy towards Fox; and as a result, Fox released promotional videos of their opinion hosts disputing the election results, promoting a Trump-affiliated
conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
about
voter fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...
. By one measure, Newsmax saw a 497% spike in viewership, while Fox News saw a 38% decline. Writing for the
Poynter Institute for Media Studies The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a non-profit journalism school and research organization in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The school is the owner of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' newspaper and the International Fact-Checking Netw ...
in February 2021, senior media writer Tom Jones argued that the primary distinction between Fox News and MSNBC is not right bias vs. left bias, but rather that much of the content on Fox News, especially during its primetime programs, "is not based in truth." The ''
Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...
'' reported in August 2021 that it had reviewed four months of emails indicating Fox News producers had coordinated with aides of Florida governor
Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Repres ...
to promote his political prospects by inviting him for frequent network appearances, exchanging talking points and, in one case, helping him to stage an exclusive news event. Fox News has published headlines accusing the
English Wikipedia The English Wikipedia is, along with the Simple English Wikipedia, one of two English-language editions of Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia. It was founded on January 15, 2001, as Wikipedia's first edition, and, as of , has the most arti ...
of having a left-wing and
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
bias.


Coverage of Russia investigation

On October 30, 2017, when special counsel
Robert Mueller Robert Swan Mueller III (; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer and government official who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013. A graduate of Princeton University and New York ...
indicted
Paul Manafort Paul John Manafort Jr. (; born April 1, 1949) is an American lobbyist, political consultant, and Lawyer, attorney. A long-time Republican Party (United States), Republican Party campaign consultant, he chaired the Donald Trump 2016 presidential ...
and Rick Gates, and revealed George Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty (all of whom were involved in the Trump 2016 campaign), this was the focus of most media's coverage, except Fox News'. Hosts and guests on Fox News called for Mueller to be fired. Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson focused their shows on unsubstantiated allegations that Clinton sold uranium to Russia in exchange for donations to the Clinton Foundation and on the Clinton campaign's role in funding the
Steele dossier The Steele dossier, also known as the Trump–Russia dossier, is a controversial political opposition research report written from June to December 2016, containing allegations of misconduct, conspiracy, and cooperation between Donald Trum ...
. Hannity asserted: "The very thing they are accusing President Trump of doing, they did it themselves." During the segment, Hannity mistakenly referred to Clinton as President Clinton. Fox News dedicated extensive coverage to the uranium story, which Democrats said was an attempt to distract from Mueller's intensifying investigation. CNN described the coverage as "a tour de force in deflection and dismissal". On October 31, CNN reported Fox News employees were dissatisfied with their outlet's coverage of the Russia investigation, with employees calling it an "embarrassment", "laughable", and saying it "does the viewer a huge disservice and further divides the country" and that it is "another blow to journalists at Fox who come in every day wanting to cover the news in a fair and objective way". When the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into
Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election The Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with the goals of harming the campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the candidacy of Donald Trump, and increasing political and social discord in the United States. Acc ...
intensified in October 2017, the focus of Fox News coverage turned "what they see as the scandal and wrongdoing of President Trump's political opponents. In reports like these, Bill and Hillary Clinton are prominent and recurring characters because they are considered the real conspirators working with the Russians to undermine American democracy." Paul Waldman of ''The Washington Post'' described the coverage as "No puppet. You're the puppet", saying it was a "careful, coordinated, and comprehensive strategy" to distract from Mueller's investigation. German Lopes of '' Vox'' said Fox News' coverage has reached "levels of self-parody" as it dedicated coverage to low-key stories, such as a controversial ''Newsweek'' op-ed and hamburger emojis, while other networks had wall-to-wall coverage of Mueller's indictments. A ''
FiveThirtyEight ''FiveThirtyEight'', sometimes rendered as ''538'', is an American website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging in the United States. The website, which takes its name from the number of electors in th ...
'' analysis of Russia-related media coverage in cable news found most mentions of Russia on Fox News were spoken in close proximity to "uranium" and "dossier". On November 1, 2017, ''Vox'' analyzed the transcripts of Fox News, CNN and MSNBC, and found Fox News "was unable to talk about the Mueller investigation without bringing up Hillary Clinton", "talked significantly less about George Papadopoulos—the Trump campaign adviser whose plea deal with Mueller provides the most explicit evidence thus far that the campaign knew of the Russian government's efforts to help Trump—than its competitors", and "repeatedly called Mueller's credibility into question". In December 2017, Fox News escalated its attacks on the Mueller investigation, with hosts and guest commentators suggesting the investigation amounted to a coup. Guest co-host Kevin Jackson referred to a right-wing conspiracy theory claiming Strzok's messages are evidence of a plot by FBI agents to assassinate Trump, a claim which the other Fox co-hosts quickly said is not supported by any credible evidence. Fox News host Jeanine Pirro called the Mueller investigation team a "criminal cabal" and said the team ought to be arrested. Other Fox News figures referred to the investigation as "corrupt", "crooked", and "illegitimate", and likened the FBI to the KGB, the Soviet-era spy organization that routinely tortured and summarily executed people. Political scientists and scholars of coups described the Fox News rhetoric as scary and dangerous. Experts on coups rejected that the Mueller investigation amounted to a coup; rather, the Fox News rhetoric was dangerous to democracy and mirrored the kind of rhetoric that occurs before
purge In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another organization, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertak ...
s. A number of observers argued the Fox News rhetoric was intended to discredit the Mueller investigation and sway President Donald Trump to fire Mueller. In August 2018, Fox News was criticized for giving more prominent coverage of a murder committed by an undocumented immigrant than the convictions of Donald Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and his long-term personal attorney, Michael Cohen. At the same time, most other national mainstream media gave wall-to-wall coverage of the convictions. Fox News hosts Dana Perrino and Jason Chaffetz argued that voters care far more about the murder than the convictions of the President's former top aides, and hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity downplayed the convictions.


False claims about other media


CNN's Jake Tapper

In November 2017, following the
2017 New York City truck attack On October 31, 2017, Sayfullo Habibullaevich Saipov drove a rented pickup truck into cyclists and runners for about of the Hudson River Park's bike path alongside West Street from Houston Street south to Chambers Street in Lower Manhattan, ...
wherein a terrorist shouted "Allahu Akbar", Fox News distorted a statement by
Jake Tapper Jacob Paul Tapper (born March 12, 1969) is an American journalist, author, and cartoonist. He is the lead Washington anchor for CNN, hosts the weekday television news show '' The Lead with Jake Tapper'', and co-hosts the Sunday morning public a ...
to make it appear as if he had said "
Allahu Akbar Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", a ...
" can be used under the most "beautiful circumstances". Fox News omitted that Tapper had said the use of "Allahu Akbar" in the terrorist attack was not one of these beautiful circumstances. A headline on FoxNews.com was preceded by a tag reading "OUTRAGEOUS". The Fox News Twitter account distorted the statement even more, saying "Jake Tapper Says 'Allahu Akbar' Is 'Beautiful' Right After NYC Terror Attack" in a tweet that was later deleted. Tapper chastised Fox News for choosing to "deliberately lie" and said "there was a time when one could tell the difference between Fox and the nutjobs at ''Infowars''. It's getting tougher and tougher. Lies are lies." Tapper had in 2009, while a White House correspondent for ABC News, come to the defense of Fox News when the
Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
claimed that the network was not a legitimate news organization. Fox News guest host
Jason Chaffetz Jason E. Chaffetz (; born March 26, 1967) is an American retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until his resignation in 2017. He chaired the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2015 until 2017. Ch ...
apologized to Tapper for misrepresenting his statement. After Fox News had deleted the tweet, Sean Hannity repeated the misrepresentation and called Tapper "liberal fake news CNN's fake Jake Tapper" and mocked his ratings.


''The New York Times''

In July 2017, a report by ''Fox & Friends'' falsely said ''The New York Times'' had disclosed intelligence in one of its stories and that this intelligence disclosure helped
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ( ar, أبو بكر البغدادي, ʾAbū Bakr al-Baḡdādī; born Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Ali Muhammad al-Badri al-Samarrai ( ar, إبراهيم عواد إبراهيم علي محمد البدري السامرائي, ʾIb ...
, the leader of the
Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic ter ...
, to evade capture. The report cited an inaccurate assertion by Gen. Tony Thomas, the head of the
United States Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Ar ...
, that a major newspaper had disclosed the intelligence. Fox News said it was ''The New York Times'', repeatedly running the chyron "NYT Foils U.S. Attempt To Take Out Al-Bahgdadi".
Pete Hegseth Peter Brian Hegseth (born June 6, 1980) is an American television host and author. Hegseth is an Army National Guard officer and former executive director of political advocacy groups Vets For Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. The lat ...
, one of the show's hosts, criticized the "failing ''New York Times''". President Donald Trump tweeted about the ''Fox & Friends'' report shortly after it first aired, saying "The Failing ''New York Times'' foiled U.S. attempt to kill the single most wanted terrorist, Al-Baghdadi. Their sick agenda over National Security." Fox News later updated the story, but without apologizing to ''The New York Times'' or responding directly to the inaccuracies. In a ''Washington Post'' column,
Erik Wemple Erik Wemple is an American journalist who works as a columnist and media critic at ''The Washington Post''. He was formerly the editor of the alternative weekly ''Washington City Paper''. Early life Wemple was raised in Niskayuna, New York, and a ...
said Chris Wallace had covered ''The New York Times'' story himself on ''Fox News Sunday'', adding: "Here's another case of the differing standards between Fox News's opinion operation", which has given "a state-run vibe on all matters related to Trump", compared to Fox News's news operation, which has provided "mostly sane coverage".


Climate change

Fox News has often been described as a major platform for
climate change denial Climate change denial, or global warming denial, is denial, dismissal, or doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, or t ...
. According to the fact-checking website
Climate Feedback Climate Feedback (CF) is a web-based content annotation tool that allows qualified scientists to comment on stories online, adding context and noting inaccuracies. It is one of three websites under the Science Feedback parent organization that ...
, Fox News is part of "a network of unreliable outlets for climate news." A 2011 study by Lauren Feldman and Anthony Leiserowitz found Fox News "takes a more dismissive tone toward climate change than CNN and MSNBC". A 2008 study found Fox News emphasized the scientific uncertainty of climate change more than CNN, was less likely to say climate change was real, and more likely to interview climate change skeptics. Leaked emails showed that in 2009
Bill Sammon Bill Sammon is a former managing editor and vice president for Fox News, as well as an author and newspaper columnist. He had previously worked as White House correspondent for ''The Washington Times'' and the ''Washington Examiner'' before joini ...
, the Fox News Washington managing editor, instructed Fox News journalists to dispute the
scientific consensus on climate change There is a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific org ...
and "refrain from asserting that the planet has warmed (or cooled) in any given period without IMMEDIATELY pointing out that such theories are based upon data that critics have called into question." According to climate scientist
Michael E. Mann Michael Evan Mann (born 1965) is an American climatologist and geophysicist. He is the director of the Center for Science, Sustainability & the Media at the University of Pennsylvania. Mann has contributed to the scientific understanding of his ...
, Fox News "has constructed an alternative universe where the laws of physics no longer apply, where the
greenhouse effect The greenhouse effect is a process that occurs when energy from a planet's host star goes through the planet's atmosphere and heats the planet's surface, but greenhouse gases in the atmosphere prevent some of the heat from returning directly ...
is a myth, and where climate change is a hoax, the product of a massive conspiracy among scientists, who somehow have gotten the polar bears, glaciers, sea levels, superstorms, and megadroughts to play along." According to James Lawrence Powell's 2011 study of the climate science denial movement, Fox News provides "the deniers with a platform to say whatever they like without fear of contradiction." Fox News employs
Steve Milloy Steven J. Milloy is a lawyer, lobbyist, author and Fox News commentator. His close financial and organizational ties to tobacco and oil companies have been the subject of criticism, as Milloy has consistently disputed the scientific consensus on ...
, a prominent
climate change denier Climate change denial, or global warming denial, is denial, dismissal, or doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, or the ...
with close financial and organizational ties to oil companies, as a contributor. In his columns about climate change for ''FoxNews.com'', Fox News has failed to disclose his substantial funding from oil companies. In 2011, the hosts of ''Fox & Friends'' described climate change as "unproven science", a "disputed fact", and criticized the
Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
for working together with the children's network
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
to teach children about climate change. In 2001, Sean Hannity described the
scientific consensus on climate change There is a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific org ...
as "phony science from the left". In 2004, he falsely alleged that "scientists still can't agree on whether the global warming is scientific fact or fiction". In 2010, Hannity said the so-called "Climategate" – the leaking of e-mails by climate scientist that climate change skeptics claimed demonstrated scientific misconduct but which all subsequent enquiries have found no evidence of misconduct or wrongdoing – a "scandal" that "exposed global warming as a myth cooked up by alarmists". Hannity frequently invites contrarian fringe scientists and critics of climate change to his shows. In 2019, a widely shared Fox News news report falsely claimed that new climate science research showed that the Earth might be heading to a new Ice Age; the author of the study that Fox News cited said that Fox News "utterly misrepresents our research" and the study did not in any way suggest that Earth was heading to an Ice Age. Fox News later corrected the story.
Shepard Smith David Shepard Smith Jr. (born January 14, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist. He served as chief general news anchor and host of '' The News with Shepard Smith'' on CNBC, a daily evening newscast launched in late September 2020; but his ...
drew attention for being one of few voices formerly on Fox News to forcefully state that climate change is real, that human activities are a primary contributor to it and that there is a
scientific consensus Scientific consensus is the generally held judgment, position, and opinion of the majority or the supermajority of scientists in a particular field of study at any particular time. Consensus is achieved through scholarly communication at confe ...
on the issue. His acceptance of the scientific consensus on climate change drew criticism from Fox News viewers and conservatives. Smith left Fox News in October 2019. In a 2021 interview with
Christiane Amanpour Christiane Maria Heideh AmanpourStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', 22 January 2019 (; fa, کریستیان امان‌پور, Kristiane Amānpur; born 12 January 1958) is a British-Iranian journalist and television host. Amanpour is the Chief ...
on her eponymous show in CNN, he stated that his presence on Fox had become "untenable" due to the "falsehoods" and "lies" intentionally spread on the network's opinion shows.


Murder of Seth Rich conspiracy

On May 16, 2017, a day when other news organizations were extensively covering Donald Trump's revelation of classified information to Russia, Fox News ran a lead story about a private investigator's uncorroborated claims about the
murder of Seth Rich The murder of Seth Rich occurred on July 10, 2016, at 4:20 a.m. in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Rich died about an hour and a half after being shot twice in the back. The perpetrators were never apprehended; police ...
, a DNC staffer. The private investigator said he had uncovered evidence that Rich was in contact with Wikileaks and law enforcement were covering it up. The killing of Rich has given rise to
conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
in rightwing circles that Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party had Seth Rich killed allegedly because he was the source of the
DNC leaks The 2016 Democratic National Committee email leak is a collection of Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails stolen by one or more hackers operating under the pseudonym " Guccifer 2.0" who are alleged to be Russian intelligence agency hackers ...
. U.S. intelligence agencies determined Russia was the source of the leaks. In reporting the investigator's claims, the Fox News report reignited right-wing conspiracy theories about the killing. The Fox News story fell apart within hours. Other news organizations quickly revealed the investigator was a Donald Trump supporter and had according to NBC News "developed a reputation for making outlandish claims, such as one appearance on Fox News in 2007 in which he warned that underground networks of pink pistol-toting lesbian gangs were raping young women." The family of Seth Rich, the Washington D.C. police department, the Washington D.C. mayor's office, the FBI, and law enforcement sources familiar with the case rebuked the investigator's claims. Rich's relatives said: "We are a family who is committed to facts, not fake evidence that surfaces every few months to fill the void and distract law enforcement and the general public from finding Seth's murderers." The spokesperson for the family criticized Fox News for its reporting, alleging the outlet was motivated by a desire to deflect attention from the Trump-Russia story: "I think there's a very special place in hell for people that would use the memory of a murder victim in order to pursue a political agenda." The family has called for retractions and apologies from Fox News for the inaccurate reporting. Over the course of the day, Fox News altered the contents of the story and the headline, but did not issue corrections. When CNN contacted the private investigator later that day, the investigator said he had no evidence that Rich had contacted Wikileaks. The investigator claimed he only learned about the possible existence of the evidence from a Fox News reporter. Fox News did not respond to inquiries by CNN, and the Washington Post. Fox News later on May 23, seven days after the story was published, retracted its original report, saying the original report did not meet its standards.
Nicole Hemmer Nicole Hemmer is an American historian. She is an is an associate professor of history and director of the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Center for the Study of the Presidency at Vanderbilt University. She specializes in the history of conserva ...
, then assistant professor at the 
Miller Center of Public Affairs The Miller Center is a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specializes in United States presidential scholarship, public policy, and political history. History The Miller Center was founded in 1975 through the philanthrop ...
, wrote that the promotion of the conspiracy theory demonstrated how Fox News was "remaking itself in the image of fringe media in the age of Trump, blurring the lines between real and fake news."
Max Boot Max Alexandrovich Boot (born September 12, 1969) is an American author, consultant, editorialist, lecturer, and military historian. He worked as a writer and editor for ''Christian Science Monitor'' and then for ''The Wall Street Journal'' in the ...
of the
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...
said while intent behind Fox News, as a counterweight to the liberal media was laudable, the culmination of those efforts have been to create an alternative news source that promotes hoaxes and myths, of which the promotion of the Seth Rich conspiracy is an example. Fox News was also criticized by conservative outlets, such as ''
The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "re ...
'', ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...
'', and conservative columnists, such as Jennifer Rubin,
Michael Gerson Michael John Gerson (May 15, 1964 – November 17, 2022) was an American journalist and speechwriter. He was a neoconservative op-ed columnist for ''The Washington Post'', a Policy Fellow with One Campaign, a visiting fellow with the Center for ...
, and
John Podhoretz John Mordecai Podhoretz (; born April 18, 1961) is an American writer. He is the editor of ''Commentary'' magazine, a columnist for the '' New York Post'', the author of several books on politics, and a former speechwriter for Presidents Rona ...
. Rich's parents, Joel and Mary Rich, sued Fox News for the emotional distress it had caused them by its false reporting. In 2020, Fox News settled with Rich family, making a payment that was not officially disclosed but which was reported to be in the seven figures. Although the settlement had been agreed to earlier in the year, Fox News arranged to delay the public announcement until after the 2020 presidential election.


Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville

Fox News hosts and contributors defended Trump's remarks that "many sides" were to blame for violence at a gathering of hundreds of
white nationalists White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
in Charlottesville, Virginia. Some criticized Trump. In a press conference on August 15, Trump used the term "alt-left" to describe counterprotesters at the white supremacist rally, a term which had been used in Fox News' coverage of the white supremacist rally. Several of Trump's comments at the press conference mirrored those appearing earlier on Fox News. According to
Dylan Byers Dylan Byers is an American journalist. He is a founding partner and senior correspondent at Puck, a news startup that covers Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Wall Street and Washington. He previously served as a senior media reporter at NBC News, where ...
of CNN, Fox News' coverage on the day of the press conference "was heavy with "
whataboutism Whataboutism or whataboutery (as in "what about…?") denotes in a pejorative sense a procedure in which a critical question or argument is not answered or discussed, but retorted with a critical counter-question which expresses a counter-accu ...
". The average Fox viewer was likely left with the impression that the media's criticism of Trump and leftist protestors' toppling of some Confederate statues were far greater threats to America than white supremacism or the president's apparent defense of bigotry." Byers wrote "it showed that if Fox News has a line when it comes to Trump's presidency, it was not crossed on Tuesday."


Glenn Beck's comments about George Soros

During
Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and ra ...
's tenure at Fox News, he became one of the most high-profile proponents of
conspiracy theories about George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
, a Jewish Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist known for his donations to
American liberal Liberalism in the United States is a political and moral philosophy based on concepts of unalienable rights of the individual. The fundamental liberal ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, the separation of chu ...
political causes. Beck regularly described Soros as a "puppet-master" and used common
anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
tropes to describe Soros and his activities. In a 2010 three-part series, Beck depicted George Soros as a cartoonish villain trying to "form a shadow government, using humanitarian aid as a cover," and that Soros wanted a one-world government. Beck promoted the false and anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Soros was a Nazi collaborator as a 14-year-old in Nazi-occupied Hungary. Beck also characterized Soros's mother as a "wildly anti-Semitic" Nazi collaborator. According to ''The Washington Post'': "Beck's series was largely considered obscene and delusional, if not outright anti-Semitic", but Beck's conspiracy theory became common on the rightwing of American politics. Amid criticism of Beck's false smears, Fox News defended Beck, stating "information regarding Mr. Soros's experiences growing up were taken directly from his writings and from interviews given by him to the media, and no negative opinion was offered as to his actions as a child." Roger Ailes, then-head of Fox News, dismissed criticism levied at Beck by hundreds of rabbis, saying that they were "left-wing rabbis who basically don't think that anybody can ever use the word, Holocaust, on the air."


COVID-19 pandemic

During the first few weeks of the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United States, it has resulted in confir ...
, Fox News was considerably more likely than other mainstream news outlets to promote misinformation about
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
. The network promoted the narrative that the emergency response to the pandemic was politically motivated or otherwise unwarranted, with
Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of '' The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commen ...
explicitly calling it a "hoax" (he later denied doing so) and other hosts downplaying it. This coverage was consistent with the messaging of Trump at the time. Only in mid March did the network change the tone of its coverage, after President Trump declared a national emergency. At the same time that Fox News commentators downplayed the threat of the virus in public, Fox's management and the Murdoch family took a broad range of internal measures to protect themselves and their employees against it. Sean Hannity and
Laura Ingraham Laura Anne Ingraham (born June 19, 1963) is an American conservative television host. Gale Biography In Context. She has been the host of '' The Ingraham Angle'' on Fox News Channel since October 2017, and is the editor-in-chief of LifeZette ...
, two of Fox News's primetime hosts, promoted use of the drug
hydroxychloroquine Hydroxychloroquine, sold under the brand name Plaquenil among others, is a medication used to prevent and treat malaria in areas where malaria remains sensitive to chloroquine. Other uses include treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, an ...
for the treatment of COVID-19, an
off-label Off-label use is the use of pharmaceutical drugs for an unapproved indication or in an unapproved age group, dosage, or route of administration. Both prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs (OTCs) can be used in off-label ways, although ...
usage which at the time was supported only by
anecdotal evidence Anecdotal evidence is evidence based only on personal observation, collected in a casual or non-systematic manner. The term is sometimes used in a legal context to describe certain kinds of testimony which are uncorroborated by objective, indepen ...
, after it was touted by Trump as a possible cure. Fox News promoted a
conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
that coronavirus death toll numbers were inflated with people who would have died anyway from preexisting conditions. This was refuted by White House coronavirus task force members
Dr. Anthony Fauci Anthony Stephen Fauci (; born December 24, 1940) is an American physician-scientist and immunologist serving as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the chief medical advisor to the president ...
and Dr. Deborah Birx, with Fauci describing conspiracy theories as "nothing but distractions" during public health crises. Later in the pandemic, Hannity, Ingraham and Carlson promoted the use of livestock dewormer
ivermectin Ivermectin (, '' EYE-vər-MEK-tin'') is an antiparasitic drug. After its discovery in 1975, its first uses were in veterinary medicine to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis. Approved for human use in 1987, today it is used to treat i ...
as a possible COVID-19 treatment. Studies have linked trust in Fox News, as well as viewership of Fox News, with fewer preventive behaviors and more risky behaviors related to COVID-19. Once a COVID-19 vaccine became widely available, Fox News consistently questioned the efficacy and safety of the vaccine, celebrated evidence-free skepticism, and blasted attempts to promote vaccinations. More than 90% of Fox Corporation's full-time employees had been fully vaccinated by September 2021.


2020 election fraud allegations

After Trump's defeat in the 2020 presidential election, Fox News host
Jeanine Pirro Jeanine Ferris Pirro (born June 2, 1951) is an American television host, author, and a former New York State judge, prosecutor, and politician. Pirro was the host of Fox News Channel's ''Justice with Judge Jeanine'' until 2022 when she became ...
promoted baseless allegations on her program that voting machine company
Smartmatic Smartmatic (also referred as Smartmatic Corp. or Smartmatic International) or Smartmatic SGO Group is a multinational company that builds and implements electronic voting systems. The company also produces smart cities solutions (including publ ...
and its competitor
Dominion Voting Systems Dominion Voting Systems Corporation is a company that sells electronic voting hardware and software, including voting machines and tabulators, in the United States and Canada. The company's headquarters are in Toronto, Ontario, and Denver, Colo ...
had conspired to rig the election against Trump. Hosts Lou Dobbs and
Maria Bartiromo Maria Sara Bartiromo (born September 11, 1967) is an American financial journalist, television personality, news anchor, and author. She is the host of ''Mornings with Maria'' and '' Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street'' on the Fox Business Network as ...
also promoted the allegations on their programs on sister network
Fox Business Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenu ...
. In December 2020, Smartmatic sent a letter to Fox News demanding retractions and threatening legal action, specifying that retractions "must be published on multiple occasions" so as to "match the attention and audience targeted with the original defamatory publications." Days later, each of the three programs aired the same three-minute video segment consisting of an interview with an election technology expert who refuted the allegations promoted by the hosts, responding to questions from an unseen and unidentified man. None of the three hosts personally issued retractions. Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation suit against the network, the three hosts, Powell and Trump attorney
Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 19 ...
in February 2021. In an April 2021 court brief seeking dismissal of the suit, Fox attorney Paul Clement argued that the network was simply "reporting allegations made by a sitting President and his lawyers." A New York State Supreme Court judge ruled in March 2022 that the suit could proceed, though he dismissed allegations against Sidney Powell and Pirro, and some claims against Giuliani. The judge allowed allegations against Bartiromo and Dobbs to stand. In December 2020, Dominion Voting Systems sent a similar letter demanding retractions to Trump attorney Sidney Powell, who had promoted the allegations on Fox programs. On March 26, 2021, Dominion filed a $1.6billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, alleging that Fox and some of its pundits spread conspiracy theories about Dominion, and allowed guests to make false statements about the company. On May 18, 2021, Fox News filed a motion to dismiss the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit, asserting a First Amendment right "to inform the public about newsworthy allegations of paramount public concern." The motion to dismiss was denied on December 16, 2021, by a Delaware Superior Court judge. In addition to Bartiromo, Dobbs, and Pirro, the suit also names primetime hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil sued Fox, Dobbs and Powell for $250 million in December 2021, alleging they had falsely implicated him in rigging Dominion and Smartmatic machines. Fox News was the only major network or cable news outlet to not carry the first televised prime time hearing of the January 6 committee live; its regular programming of ''
Tucker Carlson Tonight ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' is an American talk show and current affairs program hosted by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson on the television network Fox News. The show premiered in November 2016 and includes political commentary, monolog ...
'' and ''
Hannity ''Hannity'' is an American conservative television political talk program on Fox News hosted by Sean Hannity. Episodes air live at 9:00 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, while episodes that air on Fridays are pre-recorded, with a repea ...
'' was aired without commercial breaks. During the weeks following the election, Carlson and Hannity often amplified Trump's election falsehoods on their programs; previously disclosed text messages between Hannity and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany were presented during the hearing. Hannity told his audience, "Unlike this committee and their cheerleaders in the media mob, we will actually be telling you the truth," while Carlson said, "This is the only hour on an American news channel that won't be covering their propaganda live. They are lying and we are not going to help them do it." In June 2022, a Delaware Superior Court judge again declined to dismiss the Dominion suit against Fox News, and also allowed Dominion to sue the network's corporate parent, Fox Corporation. The judge ruled that Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch may have acted with actual malice because there was a reasonable inference they "either knew Dominion had not manipulated the election or at least recklessly disregarded the truth when they allegedly caused Fox News to propagate its claims about Dominion." He noted a report that Rupert Murdoch spoke with Trump a few days after the election and informed him that he had lost. ''The New York Times'' reported in December 2022 that Dominion had acquired communications between Fox News executives and hosts, and between a Fox Corporation employee and the Trump White House, showing they knew that what the network was reporting was untrue. Dominion attorneys said hosts Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, and Fox executives, attested to this in sworn depositions. In November 2020, Hannity hosted Sidney Powell, who asserted Dominion machines had been rigged, but said in his deposition, "I did not believe it for one second."


Compulsory reductions in meat consumption

In April 2021, at least five Fox News and Fox Business personalities amplified a story published by the ''Daily Mail'', a British tabloid, that incorrectly linked a university study to President Joe Biden's climate change agenda, to falsely assert that Americans would be compelled to dramatically reduce their meat consumption to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions caused by flatulence. Fox News aired a graphic detailing the supposed compulsory reductions, falsely indicating the information came from the United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Department, which numerous Republican politicians and commentators tweeted. Fox News anchor John Roberts (journalist), John Roberts reported to "say goodbye to your burgers if you want to sign up to the Biden climate agenda." Days later, Roberts acknowledged on air that the story was false.


Report that Biden administration was building Trump wall

According to analysis by Media Matters, on May 12, 2021, Fox News reported on its website: "Biden resumes Trump wall, border wall construction after promising to halt it". Correspondent Bill Melugin then appeared on '' Special Report with Bret Baier'' to report "the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is actually going to be restarting border wall construction down in the Rio Grande Valley" after "a lot of blowback and pressure from local residents and local politicians." After the Corps of Engineers tweeted a clarification, Melugin deleted a tweet about the story and tweeted an "update" clarifying that a levee wall was being constructed to mitigate damage to flood control systems caused by uncompleted wall construction, and the website story headline was changed to "Biden administration to resume border wall levee construction as crisis worsens." Later on ''Fox News Primetime'', host Brian Kilmeade briefly noted the levee but commented to former Trump advisor Stephen Miller (political advisor), Stephen Miller: "They're going to restart building the wall again, Stephen." Fox News host
Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of '' The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commen ...
later broadcast the original Melugin story without any mention of the levee.


Controversies


Sexual harassment

The network has been accused of permitting sexual harassment and racial discrimination by on-air hosts, executives, and employees, paying out millions of dollars in legal settlements. Prominent Fox News figures such as Roger Ailes, Bill O'Reilly (political commentator), Bill O'Reilly and Eric Bolling were fired after many women accused them of sexual harassment. At least four lawsuits alleged Fox News co-president Bill Shine ignored, enabled or concealed Roger Ailes' alleged sexual harassment. Fox News CEO Rupert Murdoch has dismissed the high-profile sexual misconduct allegations as "largely political" and speculated they were made "because we are conservative". Bill O'Reilly and Fox News settled six agreements, totaling $45 million, with women who accused O'Reilly of sexual harassment. In January 2017, shortly after Bill O'Reilly settled a sexual harassment lawsuit for $32 million ("an extraordinarily large amount for such cases"), Fox News renewed Bill O'Reilly's contract. Fox News's parent company, 21st Century Fox, said it was aware of the lawsuit. The contract between O'Reilly and Fox News read he could not be fired from the network unless sexual harassment allegations were proven in court. Fox News's extensive coverage of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases, Harvey Weinstein scandal in October 2017 was seen by some as hypocritical. Fox News dedicated at least 12 hours of coverage to the Weinstein scandal, yet only dedicated 20 minutes to Bill O'Reilly, who just like Weinstein had been accused of sexual harassment by a multitude of women. A few weeks later, when a number of females under the age of 18, including a 14-year-old, accused Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore of making sexual advances, Hannity dismissed the sexual misconduct allegations and dedicated coverage on his TV show to casting doubt on the accusers. Other prime-time Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham queried ''The Washington Post''s reporting or opted to bring up sexual misconduct allegations regarding show business figures such as Harvey Weinstein and Louis C.K., Louis C.K. Fox News figures
Jeanine Pirro Jeanine Ferris Pirro (born June 2, 1951) is an American television host, author, and a former New York State judge, prosecutor, and politician. Pirro was the host of Fox News Channel's ''Justice with Judge Jeanine'' until 2022 when she became ...
and Gregg Jarrett questioned both the validity of ''The Washington Post''s reporting and that of the women. In December 2017, a few days before the Alabama Senate election, Fox News, along with the conspiracy websites ''
Breitbart News ''Breitbart News Network'' (known commonly as ''Breitbart News'', ''Breitbart'', or ''Breitbart.com'') is an Radical right (United States), American far-rightMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * syndicated news, opinion, and commentary ...
'' and ''The Gateway Pundit'', ran an inaccurate headline which claimed one of Roy Moore's accusers admitted to forging an inscription by Roy Moore in her yearbook; Fox News later added a correction to the story. A number of Fox News hosts have welcomed Bill O'Reilly to their shows and paid tributes to Roger Ailes after his death. In May 2017, Hannity called Ailes "a second father" and said to Ailes's "enemies" that he was "preparing to kick your a** in the next life". Ailes had the year before been fired from Fox News after women alleged he sexually harassed them. In September 2017, several months after Bill O'Reilly was fired from Fox News in the wake of women alleging he sexually harassed them, Hannity hosted O'Reilly on his show. Some Fox News employees criticized the decision. According to CNN, during the interview, Hannity found kinship with O'Reilly as he appeared "to feel that he and O'Reilly have both become victims of liberals looking to silence them."


Obama administration conflict

In September 2009, the
Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
engaged in a verbal conflict with Fox News Channel. On September 20, President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
appeared on all major news programs except Fox News, a snub partially in response to remarks about him by commentators Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity and Fox coverage of Obama's health-care proposal. In late September 2009, Obama's senior advisor David Axelrod (political consultant), David Axelrod and Roger Ailes met in secret to attempt to smooth out tensions between the two camps. Two weeks later, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel referred to FNC as "not a news network" and communications director Anita Dunn said "Fox News often operates as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party". Obama commented: "If media is operating basically as a talk radio format, then that's one thing, and if it's operating as a news outlet, then that's another." Emanuel said it was important "to not have the CNNs and the others in the world basically be led in following Fox". Within days, it was reported that Fox had been excluded from an interview with administration official Ken Feinberg, with bureau chiefs from the White House press pool (ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN) coming to Fox's defense. A bureau chief said: "If any member had been excluded it would have been the same thing, it has nothing to do with Fox or the White House or the substance of the issues." Shortly after the story broke, the White House admitted to a low-level mistake, saying Fox had not made a specific request to interview Feinberg. Fox White House correspondent Major Garrett said he had not made a specific request, but had a "standing request from me as senior White House correspondent on Fox to interview any newsmaker at the Treasury at any given time news is being made". On November 8, 2009, the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' reported an unnamed Democratic consultant was warned by the White House not to appear on Fox News again. According to the article, Dunn claimed in an e-mail to have checked with colleagues who "deal with TV issues" who denied telling anyone to avoid Fox. Patrick Caddell, a Fox News contributor and former pollster for President Jimmy Carter, said he had spoken with other Democratic consultants who had received similar warnings from the White House. On October 2, 2013, Fox News host Anna Kooiman cited on the air a fake story from the ''National Report'' parody site, which claimed Obama had offered to keep the International Museum of Muslim Cultures open with cash from his own pocket.


Journalistic ethical standards

Fox News attracted controversy in April 2018 when it was revealed primetime host Sean Hannity had defended Trump's then personal attorney Michael Cohen on air without disclosing Cohen was his lawyer. On April 9, 2018, federal agents from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney's office served a search warrant on Cohen's office and residence. On the air, Hannity defended Cohen and criticized the federal action, calling it "highly questionable" and "an unprecedented abuse of power". On April 16, 2018, in a court hearing, Cohen's lawyers told the judge that Cohen had ten clients in 2017–2018 but did "traditional legal tasks" for only three: Trump, Elliott Broidy, and a "prominent person" who did not wish to be named for fear of being "embarrassed". The federal judge ordered the revelation of the third client, whom Cohen's lawyers named as Hannity. Hannity was not sanctioned by Fox News for this breach of journalistic ethics, with Fox News releasing a statement that the channel was unaware of Hannity's relationship to Cohen and that it had "spoken to Sean and he continues to have our full support." Media ethics experts said that Hannity's disclosure failure was a major breach of journalistic ethics and that the network should have suspended or fired him for it.


NYC Human Rights Law violations

In mid-2021, Fox News agreed to pay a $1 million settlement to New York City after its Commission on Human Rights cited "a pattern of violating the New York City Human Rights Law, NYC Human Rights Law". A Fox News spokesperson claimed that "FOX News Media has already been in full compliance across the board, but [settled] to continue enacting extensive preventive measures against all forms of discrimination and harassment."


International transmission

The Fox News Channel feed has international availability via multiple providers, while ''Fox Extra'' segments provide alternate programming. Fox News is carried in more than 40 countries.


Australia

In Australia, FNC is broadcast on the dominant pay television provider Foxtel, which is 65% owned by News Corp Australia, the Australian arm of News Corp and the sister company of FNC-owner
Fox Corporation Fox Corporation (stylized in all-caps as FOX Corporation) is a publicly traded American mass media company operated and controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York City. Incorporated ...
. Local cable news channel Sky News Australia is wholly owned by News Corp Australia and is therefore FNC's de facto sister channel, although has formal partnerships with FNC competitor CNN as well as both ABC News and CBS News.


Brazil

Since 2002, FNC has been broadcast to Brazil; however, commercials are replaced with ''Fox Extra''. It is available in packages of Vivo TV.


Canada

Fox had initially planned to launch a joint venture with Canwest's Global Television Network, tentatively named Fox News Canada, which would have featured a mixture of U.S. and Canadian content, Canadian news programming. As a result, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, CRTC denied a 2003 application requesting permission for Fox News Channel to be List of foreign television channels available in Canada, carried in Canada. However, in March 2004, a Fox executive said the venture had been shelved; in November of that year, the CRTC added Fox News to its whitelist of foreign channels that may be carried by television providers.


France

Fox News is available on cable through French Internet provider Free (ISP), Free on channel 352. As of Spring 2017, the channel was no longer found on the provider Orange S.A., Orange's lineup.


India

It is available through streaming service Disney+ Hotstar (formerly owned by FNC parent company 21st Century Fox).


Indonesia

In Indonesia, It is available in Channel 397 in pay TV provider First Media (Indonesian media company), First Media.


Ireland

:''See: #United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom & Ireland.''


Israel

In Israel, FNC is broadcast on Channel 105 of the satellite provider yes (Israel), Yes, as well as being carried on Cellcom TV and Partner TV. It is also broadcast on channel 200 on cable operator HOT (Israel), HOT.


Italy

In Italy, FNC is broadcast on SKY Italia. Fox news was launched on Stream TV in 2001, and moved to SKY Italia in 2003.


Japan

Although service to Japan ceased in summer 2003, it can still be seen on Americable (distributor for United States Forces Japan, American bases), Mediatti (Kadena Air Base) and Pan Global TV Japan.


Mexico

The channel's international feed is being carried by cable provider Izzi Telecom.


Netherlands

In the Netherlands, Fox News has been carried by cable providers UPC Nederland and CASEMA, and satellite provider Canaldigitaal; all have dropped the channel in recent years. At this time, only cable provider Caiway (available in a limited number of towns in the central part of the country) is broadcasting the channel. The channel was also carried by IPTV provider KNIPPR (owned by T-Mobile).


New Zealand

In New Zealand, FNC is broadcast on Channel 088 of pay satellite operator SKY Network Television's digital platform. It was formerly broadcast overnight on free-to-air Ultra high frequency, UHF New Zealand TV channel Prime Television (New Zealand), Prime (owned by SKY); this was discontinued in January 2010, reportedly due to an expiring broadcasting license. Fox News' former parent company News Corporation had a stake in both SKY and Prime until 2014.


Pakistan

In Pakistan, Fox News Channel is available on PTCL Smart TV and a number of cable and IPTV operators.


Philippines

In the Philippines, Fox News Channel is available on Sky Cable Channels 138 (Metro Manila) and 510 (Regional), Cablelink Channel 224 (Metro Manila) and G Sat Channel 50. It was available on Cignal Channel 131 until January 1, 2021, due to contract expiration.


Scandinavia

Between 2003 and 2006, in Sweden and the other Scandinavian countries, FNC was broadcast 16 hours a day on TV8 (Sweden), TV8 (with ''Fox News Extra'' segments replacing U.S. advertising). Fox News was dropped by TV8 and replaced by German news channel Deutsche Welle in September 2006.


Singapore

In Singapore, FNC is broadcast on channel 702 on pay cable operator StarHub TV digital platform. It also broadcasts its sister channel,
Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the he ...
.


South Africa

In South Africa, FNC is broadcast on StarSat, South Africa, StarSat. The most popular pay television operator, DStv, does not offer FNC in its channel bouquet.


United Kingdom and Ireland

FNC was carried in the Television in the United Kingdom, United Kingdom by Sky (UK and Ireland), Sky, which was 40-percent owned by 21st Century Fox at the time, and operates its own domestic news channel
Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the he ...
. On August 29, 2017, Sky dropped Fox News; the broadcaster said its carriage was not "commercially viable" due to average viewership of fewer than 2,000 viewers per day. The company said the decision was unrelated to 21st Century Fox's proposed acquisition of the remainder of Sky plc (which ultimately led to a bidding war that resulted in its acquisition by Comcast instead). The potential co-ownership had prompted concerns from critics of the deal, who felt Sky News could similarly undergo a shift to an opinionated format with a right-wing viewpoint. However, such a move would violate Ofcom broadcast codes, which requires all news programming to show due impartiality. The channel's broadcasts in the country have violated this rule on several occasions, while the channel also violated election silence rules by broadcasting analysis of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016 Brexit referendum while polls were still open (the channel was blacked out while polls were open during the 2017 United Kingdom general election, 2017 general election to comply with the rule).


Notable personalities


Program hosts

* Bret Baier *
Maria Bartiromo Maria Sara Bartiromo (born September 11, 1967) is an American financial journalist, television personality, news anchor, and author. She is the host of ''Mornings with Maria'' and '' Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street'' on the Fox Business Network as ...
* Jedediah Bila * Dan Bongino * Shannon Bream * Will Cain * Tucker Carlson * Neil Cavuto * Emily Compagno * Steve Doocy * Ainsley Earhardt * Harris Faulkner * Paul Gigot * Trey Gowdy * Greg Gutfeld *
Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of '' The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commen ...
*
Pete Hegseth Peter Brian Hegseth (born June 6, 1980) is an American television host and author. Hegseth is an Army National Guard officer and former executive director of political advocacy groups Vets For Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. The lat ...
* Bill Hemmer * Steve Hilton *
Laura Ingraham Laura Anne Ingraham (born June 19, 1963) is an American conservative television host. Gale Biography In Context. She has been the host of '' The Ingraham Angle'' on Fox News Channel since October 2017, and is the editor-in-chief of LifeZette ...
* Brian Kilmeade * Howard Kurtz * Mark Levin * Martha MacCallum * Jillian Mele * Arthel Neville * Dana Perino * Todd Piro *
Jeanine Pirro Jeanine Ferris Pirro (born June 2, 1951) is an American television host, author, and a former New York State judge, prosecutor, and politician. Pirro was the host of Fox News Channel's ''Justice with Judge Jeanine'' until 2022 when she became ...
* John Roberts (journalist), John Roberts * Jon Scott * Eric Shawn * Sandra Smith (reporter), Sandra Smith * Stuart Varney * Leland Vittert * Jesse Watters * Juan Williams


Correspondents and substitute anchors

* Manny Alvarez * Julie Banderas * Christine Clayburg * Kevin Corke * Claudia Cowan * Janice Dean * Peter Doocy * Mike Emanuel * Kristin Fisher * Lea Gabrielle * Trace Gallagher * Anna Gilligan * Lauren Green * Jennifer Griffin * Benjamin Hall (journalist), Benjamin Hall * Molly Henneberg * Brit Hume * Phil Keating * Kennedy (commentator), Kennedy * Molly Line * Bryan Llenas * Dagen McDowell * Hollie McKay * Kate Obenshain * Charles Payne (journalist), Charles Payne * Katie Pavlich * Geraldo Rivera * Carley Shimkus


Regular guests and contributors

* Keith Ablow * Mike Baker (CIA officer), Mike Baker * Guy Benson * Tammy Bruce * Rachel Campos-Duffy * Rep.
Jason Chaffetz Jason E. Chaffetz (; born March 26, 1967) is an American retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until his resignation in 2017. He chaired the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2015 until 2017. Ch ...
* Mo Elleithee * Ezekiel Emanuel * Nigel Farage * Ari Fleischer * Steve Forbes * Newt Gingrich * Bernard Goldberg * Jonah Goldberg * Marie Harf * Stephen F. Hayes, Stephen Hayes * Mollie Hemingway * Governor Mike Huckabee * Charles Hurt * Santita Jackson * Robert Jeffress * Jack Keane * Dennis Kucinich * Tomi Lahren * Larry Elder * Leo Terrell * Geraldo Rivera * John Layfield, John "Bradshaw" Layfield * Rich Lowry *
Frank Luntz Frank Ian Luntz (born February 23, 1962) is an American political and communications consultant and pollster, best known for developing talking points and other messaging for Republican causes. His work has included assistance with messaging ...
* Leslie Marshall (journalist), Leslie Marshall * Kayleigh McEnany * Dennis Miller * Judith Miller * Fr. Jonathan Morris (priest), Jonathan Morris * Oliver North, Lt. Col. Oliver North * Burgess Owens * Candace Owens * Katie Pavlich * Charles Payne (journalist), Charles Payne *
Karl Rove Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist. He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on Augu ...
* Nicole Saphier * Mercedes Schlapp * Douglas Schoen * Ben Shapiro * Marc Siegel * Ben Stein * Katherine Timpf * Joe Trippi * Jonathan Turley * Tyrus (wrestler), Tyrus * Brett Velicovich * Jason Whitlock * Lis Wiehl *
Byron York Byron York (born December 5, 1955) is an American conservative correspondent, pundit, columnist, and author. Education York holds a B.A. from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and an M.A. from the University of Chicago. Career York ...


Former hosts and contributors

* Jim Angle (deceased) * Louis Aguirre (former morning host, now at WPLG in Miami) * Dari Alexander (now at WNYW in New York City) * Jennifer Ashton (now at ABC News) * Ellison Barber (now with
NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's v ...
) * Tiki Barber (now with CBS Sports Network) * Fred Barnes (journalist), Fred Barnes * Rudi Bakhtiar (now PR Director for the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans) *
Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and ra ...
(former afternoon host; now on TheBlaze) * Bob Beckel (terminated amid racist remarks, deceased) * Lisa Bernhard (entertainment correspondent) * Tony Blankley (deceased) * Eric Bolling (terminated amid sexual harassment allegations) * John R. Bolton (left to become U.S. National Security Advisor) *
Donna Brazile Donna Lease Brazile (; born December 15, 1959) is an American political strategist, campaign manager and political analyst who served twice as acting Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). She is currently an ABC News contributor, an ...
(now at ABC News) * Dave Briggs (journalist), Dave Briggs (now at CNN) * Patti Ann Browne * Scott Brown (politician), Scott Brown * Eric Burns (not renewed) * Brenda Buttner (deceased) * Patrick Caddell (deceased) * Joseph A. Cafasso (stepped down over allegations he overrepresented his military record) * Herman Cain (deceased) * Carl Cameron (retired in August 2017) * Alisyn Camerota (now at CNN) * Gretchen Carlson * Ben Carson (joined Trump cabinet) * Steve Centanni (retired in August 2014) *
Heather Childers Heather Star Childers is an American television news anchor. She was a former anchor of the first hour of '' Fox & Friends First'' for Fox News Channel, and worked for the organization from 2010 until 2020. She currently co-anchors ''American Age ...
(terminated, now at Newsmax TV) * Liz Cheney (now in public service) * Kiran Chetry (later worked for CNN) * Wesley Clark (now at CNN) * Alan Colmes (deceased) * Rita Cosby (later worked at
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
) *
Catherine Crier Catherine Jean Crier is an American journalist and author of ''A Deadly Game'' and ''The Case Against Lawyers''. She was the youngest elected state judge in Texas history at age thirty and served as a Texas State District Judge for the 162nd Di ...
(now at TruTV) * Monica Crowley * S. E. Cupp (now at CNN) * Stacey Dash (not renewed) * Lou Dobbs * Jill Dobson * Laurie Dhue (not renewed) * Matt Drudge * Darby Dunn (now at
CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk s ...
) * Erick Erickson (now at WSB (AM), WSB Radio in Atlanta) * Donna Fiducia (no longer active in cable news industry, went into Georgia real estate) * Rick Folbaum (now at WANF) * Harold Ford Jr. (now at MSNBC) * Melissa Francis (not renewed) * Courtney Friel (now at KTLA-TV) * Neal Gabler * Major Garrett (now at CBS News) * John Gibson (political commentator), John Gibson * Alexis Glick (left Fox Business in December 2009; now at CNN) * Wendell Goler (deceased) * Kimberly Guilfoyle * Jane Hall (journalist), Jane Hall * Mary Katharine Ham (now at CNN) * Elisabeth Hasselbeck * Ed Henry (terminated amid sexual harassment allegations) * Catherine Herridge (now at CBS News) * E. D. Hill (now at CNN) * Marc Lamont Hill (now at BET and CNN) * Kit Hoover (now at TLC (TV channel), TLC) * Margaret Hoover (now at PBS and CNN) * Page Hopkins (left network September 26, 2008; now at MSNBC) * Adam Housley * Juliet Huddy (now at WABC (AM), WABC Radio) * Abby Huntsman (now on The View (talk show), ''The View'' on ABC) * Carol Iovanna (now runs production company) * Marvin Kalb (not renewed) * John Kasich (later served two terms as Governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019) * Terry Keenan (deceased) * Greg Kelly (now at Newsmax TV) * Megyn Kelly (moved to NBC News; left NBC in January 2019) * Mort Kondracke * Anna Kooiman (now at Network 10) * Charles Krauthammer (deceased) * Bill Kristol * Jenna Lee * Rick Leventhal * Harvey Levin * Andy Levy (now at HLN (TV network), HLN) * Dana Lewis (broadcaster), Dana Lewis (now at WSAW-TV in Wausau) * G. Gordon Liddy (deceased) * Rachel Marsden (contributor and ''Red Eye'' panelist; now lives in France) * Meghan McCain (now on The View (talk show), ''The View'' on ABC) * Bill McCuddy * Zell Miller * Maria Molina * Clayton Morris * Dick Morris (contributor, not renewed) *
Andrew Napolitano Andrew Peter Napolitano (born June 6, 1950) is an American syndicated columnist whose work appears in numerous publications, including ''The Washington Times'' and ''Reason''. He was an analyst for Fox News, commenting on legal news and trials. ...
* Heather Nauert (now Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute) * Scottie Nell Hughes (terminated) * Joanne Nosuchinsky * Robert Novak (deceased) * Bill O'Reilly (political commentator), Bill O'Reilly (terminated amid sexual harassment allegations) * Barbara Olson (killed in the September 11 attacks in 2001) * Morgan Ortagus (now U.S. State Department Spokesperson) * Lt. Col. Ralph Peters * Uma Pemmaraju (deceased) * Julian Phillips * Kirsten Powers (now at CNN) * Elizabeth Prann (now at HLN (TV network), HLN) * Judith Regan * Julie Roginsky * Ed Rollins (not renewed) * James Rosen (journalist), James Rosen (now at the Sinclair Broadcast Group) * Sarah Huckabee Sanders (contributor, terminated) * Rick Santorum (now with CNN) * Rob Schmitt (now at Newsmax TV) * Mike Schneider (left for Bloomberg Television, most recently at NJTV) * Laura Schwartz * Bob Sellers (was morning co-anchor at WZTV in Nashville until 2016) * Suzanne Sena * David Shuster (now at i24NEWS) * Jane Skinner *
Shepard Smith David Shepard Smith Jr. (born January 14, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist. He served as chief general news anchor and host of '' The News with Shepard Smith'' on CNBC, a daily evening newscast launched in late September 2020; but his ...
(now at CNBC) * Tony Snow (became White House Press Secretary, deceased) * John Stossel * Andrea Tantaros * Cal Thomas (not renewed) * Greta Van Susteren (left for MSNBC, now at Gray Television) * Linda Vester *
Chris Wallace Christopher Wallace (born October 12, 1947) is an American broadcast journalist. He is known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews, for which he is often compared to his father, ''60 Minutes'' journalist Mike Wallace. Over his 50-year care ...
(now at CNN) * George Will (now at NBC News and MSNBC) * Brian Wilson (news correspondent), Brian Wilson (presently morning drive time host on WMAL-FM) * Paula Zahn (left for CNN, now at Investigation Discovery)


See also

* Fox effect * Fox Music * The Fox Nation (website), The Fox Nation * Sun News Network, a short-lived Canadian attempt at creating a similar news channel for conservative Canadian viewers


References


Further reading

* * * * * *


External links

* * {{Authority control Fox News, 24-hour television news channels in the United States 1996 establishments in New York (state) Conservative media in the United States English-language television stations in the United States Foreign television channels broadcasting in the United Kingdom Fox Corporation subsidiaries Sirius Satellite Radio channels Sirius XM Radio channels Television channels and stations established in 1996 Television networks in the United States XM Satellite Radio channels