Fox Business Network Condemns Lou Dobbs Guest Who Floated Anti-Semitic Conspiracy About Caravan

[DonViejo]

by Aidan McLaughlin | Oct 28th, 2018, 1:24 pm

Fox Business Network issued a statement on Sunday condemning remarks made by a guest on Lou Dobbs Tonight that many have decried as anti-Semitic.

On Thursday’s episode of the Fox Business Network show, Chris Farrell, the director of Judicial Watch, baselessly claimed that the migrant caravan in Mexico is being funded by the “Soros-occupied State Department.”

A rerun of that episode was aired on Saturday, following the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania synagogue that left 11 people dead. The gunman, who was charged with hate crimes, frequently posted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories accusing Jews of being behind the caravan of Central American migrants bound for the U.S. That rerun of the episode prompted this viral tweet, from TPM editor Josh Marshall:

Link to tweet

Fox Business Network issued a statement from Gary Schreier, the Senior Vice President of Programming, condemning the remarks from Farrell and announcing the episode has been pulled:

“We condemn the rhetoric by the guest on Lou Dobbs Tonight. This episode was a repeat which has now been pulled from all future airings.”

A Fox spokesperson told Mediaite that Farrell will no longer be appearing on Fox Business or Fox News.


https://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-business-network-condemns-lou-dobbs-guest-who-floated-anti-semitic-conspiracy-about-caravan/

[oberliner]

1. How about firing Dobbs?

[icymist]

3. + 1000

[still_one]

5. Dobbs is a xenophobic bigot for quite some time. He was given a choice at CNN. Mr. Dobbs could

anchor an objective business newscast on television, (in other words stop the racist rants as part of his show), or leave CNN.

Dobbs choose to leave and go to where his bigotry was accepted with open arms:


FOX

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. Yeah - Farrell (prof at George Mason U) said it before to Dobbs, in May

and Dobbs invites Farrell back regularly to say it again:

Link to tweet

Josh Marshall's blog on this:

A Country Awash in Fox’s Dark Toxins

If you’re not familiar with this world, “ZOG” is a staple of white supremacist and neo-Nazi literature and websites. It stands for “Zionist Occupied Government” and is a shorthand for the belief that Jews secretly control the US government. Chris Farrell’s phrasing was no accident. All of this is straight out of the most rancid anti-Semitic propaganda. Rob Bowers, the shooter in the Pittsburgh massacre, appears to have been specifically inspired by this conspiracy theory. Indeed, Bowers had also reposted references to “ZOG” on his social media accounts.
...
It seems clear that had I not happened to see it and share it to my relatively large following on Twitter and TPM with a bit of explanation of the rhetoric, it would have gone entirely unnoticed and be just another example of the torrent of anti-Semitic and racist conspiracy theories that routinely flow over the Fox networks.

A final detail. Chris Farrell, the guest who is now reportedly banned from both Fox networks, is not some fringe figure who happened to get booked on a slow night. Farrell is Director of Investigations and Research at Judicial Watch. He’s both an officer and a member of the organization’s board of directors. (He also teaches journalism law at George Mason University.) Judicial Watch is not only a major player pushing various “deep state” conspiracy theories, it is a big time player in right-wing legal circles. As Adam Jentleson, former top aide to retired Sen. Harry Reid, put it, “Judicial Watch is a central pillar of the right-wing judicial ecosphere that groomed and promoted Kavanaugh and continues to funnel extremists into lifetime appointments.”

The point is simple. What is remarkable is not that this happened on a major national cable network owned by a major media conglomerate and watched by millions of people. What is remarkable is that stuff like this happens all the time and it mainly goes unnoticed and un-cared about. It is another part of the story of the growing convergence verging on indistinguishability between the country’s nominally center-right party, the GOP, and the revanchist nationalist right, with all its racism, anti-Semitism and conspiratorial mindset.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-country-awash-in-foxs-dark-toxins

[SMC22307]

2. "Soros-occupied State Department"? I'm *really*...

having a tough time keeping up with their insanity.

[oberliner]

4. It's a reference to "Zionist Occupied Government"

A classic antisemitic refrain (the idea that the government is secretly controlled by Jews).

[SMC22307]

6. Ah, right, back to a "classic." I've been reading up on...

QAnon and Proud Boys this afternoon and guess my brain can only handle so much. Thx.

[Zambero]

7. Lou Dobbs & guest analogy

Stink following shit.