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The post Sinclair pulls show off air that featured conspiracy theory about Dr. Anthony Fauci and COVID-19 appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>By DAVID BAUDER
Associated Press
Jul 25, 2020 7:59 PM
In this June 26, 2020, file photo Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci, center, speaks during a news conference with members of the coronavirus task force at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington. (Susan Walsh/AP)
The Sinclair Broadcast Group said Saturday it is pulling from the air an edition of its “America This Week” program that discusses a conspiracy theory involving Dr. Anthony Fauci and the coronavirus.
Sinclair spokesman Michael Padovano said Sinclair hopes to add context and other viewpoints and still air the controversial segment on the next week’s edition of “America This Week.”
Meanwhile, Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, talked in detail in a new podcast about the “serious threats” and hate mail directed his way.
“America This Week” is hosted by Eric Bolling, a former Fox News Channel personality, and sent to stations Sinclair owns in 81 markets. The show it initially distributed for this weekend’s show featured an interview with Judy Mikovits, maker of the widely discredited “Plandemic” video, and her lawyer, Larry Klayman.
Mikovits, an anti-vaccine activist, said she believed that Fauci manufactured the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and shipped it to China. There has been no evidence that the virus was produced in a lab, much less any of Fauci’s involvement.
Bolling did not push back on the claim, or show any evidence of checking its veracity. He followed up with a segment interviewing radiologist Dr. Nicole Saphier, a Fox News contributor, who said she thought Fauci “in no way, shape or form has been involved in the manufacture of this virus.”
During the segment, first revealed by Media Matters for America, a chyron on the bottom of the screen read “Did Dr. Fauci create coronavirus?”
Bolling told CNN Business that he wasn’t even aware of the “Plandemic” video before his bookers arranged for Mikovits’ appearance. He told CNN that “frankly, I was shocked when she made the accusation.” He said he brought Saphier on to challenge what he called a “hefty” charge.
The 26-minute “Plandemic” video emerged this spring and promoted a series of questionable, false and potentially dangerous theories. Online platforms Facebook, YouTube and Twitter took actions to slow its distribution.
Kelly McBride, a senior vice president and ethics expert for the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank, said Saturday that such controversial theories should only be presented if accompanied by thorough reporting on their accuracy.
“One has the responsibility to vet the information that they’re putting in front of an audience,” McBride said. “There’s no way to put information out like that responsibly because it’s so far-fetched.”
Before pulling the episode, Sinclair had tweeted that it did not endorse Mikovits’ theory. But the company said, “We’re a supporter of free speech and a marketplace of ideas and viewpoints, even if incredibly controversial.”
A hero to some for his blunt talk about COVID-19, Fauci has been the target of criticism by President Donald Trump and his supporters. It was revealed this spring that he was given security after receiving threats, and he talked about it in some detail on “The Axe Files” podcast with former Obama aide David Axelrod this past week.
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Fauci said he’s seen a side of society that is disturbing, with a far greater level of anger than he heard in the 1980s when he was working to combat HIV.
Fauci says he is receiving “not only hate mail, but actual serious threats against me.”
“I mean against my family, my daughters, my wife,” he said. “There are people who get really angry at thinking that I’m interfering with their life because I’m pushing a public health agenda.”
When it comes to hate mail and serious threats against him and his family, Fauci said, “I don’t really see how society does that.”
“I could understand, very well, that you have to be careful because of the negative consequences of things like shutting down,” he said. “That’s understandable, which is the reason we’re all trying to open up America again in a way that is safe, that we can do it in a measured fashion. But the hostility against public health issues is difficult to not only understand, but difficult to even process.”
Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
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]]>The post Sinclair Delays Airing Interview With Pandemic Conspiracy Theorist appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>Sinclair Broadcasting said today it will delay its planned broadcast of a news segment that included an interview with a conspiracy theorist who made several wild claims on the pandemic.
America This Week host Eric Bolling was planning to air an interview with Judy Mikovits, a medical researcher who was featured in a conspiracy video called The Plandemic.
The video, which emerged in May, advocated against masks and made claims against any proposed vaccine. It also claimed Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House infectious disease expert, created the coronavirus, Media Matters reported. The video has been banned from many social media platforms because of its claims.
Mikovits was featured in the video, and when Bolling interviewed her, he made no mention of the controversy, instead touting her as “an expert in virology” who previously “worked with Dr. Anthony Fauci.”
However, an outcry on social media about the Bolling interview has given pause to Sinclair and apparently to Bolling himself, who issued his own statement on the interview.
“I recognize that this segment does need to be reworked to provide better context, and as such we are delaying the airing of the episode for one week,” Bolling said in a statement posted to his Twitter feed on Saturday afternoon.
He added, “I have always welcomed all points of on my show and have consistently stood for free speech in my 15 years in media,” Bolling said. “In this case, admittedly I was caught off guard by some of Dr. Mikovits’ claims. At no point did I agree with her. Further, I brought on another doctor to debunk the theories she espoused. I repeat: I do not agree with Dr. Mikovits.”
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]]>“I recognize that this segment does need to be reworked to provide better context, and as such we are delaying the airing of the episode for one week,” Bolling said in a statement posted to his Twitter feed on Saturday afternoon.
Fauci recently has talked about becoming the target of death threats over his public comments on the coronavirus pandemic, which have often contradicted the policies of President Donald Trump and his administration.
Media Matters reported that Bolling introduced the prerecorded interview by referring to Mikovits as “an expert in virology” and someone who had previously worked with Fauci. In the interview, Bolling spoke with Mikovits and her attorney, Larry Klayman, about “Plandemic” as well as their plans to sue Fauci.
Bolling also spoke to Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier in response to Mikovits’ claims. Saphir noted that it was “highly unlikely” that Fauci was to blame for the pandemic, and then she and Bolling weighed other theories for how the virus spread and escalated.
Prior to making the decision to delay the episode, both Bolling and Sinclair said that while they were allowing the segment to run, they were in no way endorsing the documentary or its message.
“I have always welcomed all points of on my show and have consistently stood for free speech in my 15 years in media,” Bolling said. “In this case, admittedly I was caught off guard by some of Dr. Mikovits’ claims. At no point did I agree with her. Further, I brought on another doctor to debunk the theories she espoused. I repeat: I do not agree with Dr. Mikovits.”
In his announcement that this week’s segment would be delayed, Bolling added that he has “immense respect for Dr. Fauci” and views him as “the leading expert on this topic.” He also said that he has attempted to have Fauci on his program to discuss Covid-19 and that the invitation still stands.
“After further review, we have decided to delay this episode’s airing, Sinclair said in a statement Saturday. “We will spend the coming days bringing together other viewpoints and provide additional context. All stations have been notified not to air this and will instead be re-airing last week’s episode in its place.”
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