At the beginning of a Fox and Friends segment, Fox News fired up their editing machine created a false Obama quote that they used to blame the president for the violence in Ferguson.
Video:
In the Fox News version of the video, the president said, “I know that many Americans have been deeply disturbed by the images we’ve seen in the heartland of our country, as police have clashed with people protesting….There’s also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests, or to throw protestors in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights.”
Fox News took two quotes from the president that were unrelated, and four paragraphs apart in his speech, to create the false impression that Obama was siding with the protestors.
Full video of Obama’s remarks:
Here is what the president really said, “I know that many Americans have been deeply disturbed by the images we’ve seen in the heartland of our country, as police have clashed with people protesting. Today, I’d like us all to take a step back and think about how we’re going to be moving forward.
Four paragraphs later, President Obama continued:
There is never an excuse for violence against police, or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting. There’s also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests, or to throw protestors in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights. And here, in the United States of America, police should not be bullying or arresting journalists who are just trying to do their jobs and report to the American people on what they see on the ground. Put simply, we all need to hold ourselves to a high standard, particularly those of us in positions of authority.
I know that emotions are raw right now in Ferguson and there are certainly passionate differences about what has happened. There are going to be different accounts of how this tragedy occurred. There are going to be differences in terms of what needs to happen going forward. That’s part of our democracy. But let’s remember that we’re all part of one American family. We are united in common values, and that includes belief in equality under the law; a basic respect for public order and the right to peaceful public protest; a reverence for the dignity of every single man, woman and child among us; and the need for accountability when it comes to our government.
None of this stopped Fox News from claiming that President Obama will be responsible for any future violence in Ferguson. Fox News contributor Peter Johnson Jr. said, “Well, I don’t know if he jumped in too quickly. He may have chosen a side too quickly with regard to this issue of excessive force and with regard to the police being an assaultive force on protesters. What I expect, and I think a lot of Americans expect, is the president to invoke the rule of law, to invoke reason. He did to some extent. But if you look at the shadings in his statements, he’s clearly made a statement that the police were acting in an excessive way, that they were violating rights not only of the protesters, but of reporters on the scene. So when you do so, you set a scene and you set an atmosphere –unfortunately, I think — for continued discord and possibly violence in such a community.”
At Fox News, the violence and unrest have nothing to do with the fact that a police officer shot an unarmed African-American teen. According to Fox News, Obama is the real reason for the situation in Ferguson. In reality, all Fox is doing is spreading the Republican propaganda that race had nothing to do with the death of Michael Brown.
It is perfectly fine for a Republican congressman to suggest that Obama and the Democrats have declared war on whites, but Fox News treats the idea that the murder of an unarmed black teen might have something to do with race as an absurdity.
Fox News has been editing the president’s remarks for years, and years, and years. The use of this tactic is not new, but it demonstrates how far Fox News is willing to go in order to misinform and mislead their viewers.
Fox constructed an entire Obama bashing segment around a misleadingly edited video. Fox News has spent the entire Obama presidency attempting to use racial division in order to sink the Obama presidency. Michael Brown’s murder was just another excuse for Fox News to remind viewers that Obama is black and blame him for violence.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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