Date: 10/20/2021
This is a response to the gentleman from East Longmeadow who criticized my letter about Fox News. He added the information that it was a rapper who initiated the story that the vaccine could make one’s testicles swell up. Also he informed us that it was an Iranian cleric who claimed that people who have taken the vaccine have become homosexuals.
I never suggested that these false rumors originated in Fox studios or that the originators of any of the false anti-vaccination claims were on the Fox payroll. My criticism of Fox is that they aired these and other misinformation to a wide American audience. By doing so, Fox enhanced vaccine hesitancy. One America News (OAN) is another news outlet, (but really a propaganda platform for Trump), that is doing the same thing. Both Fox and OAN have promoted false remedies for COVID-19 to suggest that vaccination is not really needed and very dangerous.
If COVID-19 is still ravaging the nation in 2024, Biden and Democrats will likely be voted out of office and Trump may return. It is Fox, OAN and other conservative news outlets who should be fact-checking their stories before releasing them to the public. Their efforts should be directed at delivering honest and true news not getting Biden out of office.
I repeat from my original letter, “Why don’t we have laws against spreading disinformation, especially when it is crucial to everyone’s health.” The responder from East Longmeadow says I, as a consumer, should be doing the fact-checking. I say checking the facts is the responsibility of the news outlets. If they know it is false, it should not be aired to gullible consumers which is what is happening.
Malita Brown
Wilbraham
