How Fox News Combined Two Protests to Create a False Narrative about the Nashville Shooting
A condensed overview of 15 hours of Fox News for the week ending 4/9/23
Last week I noticed an odd trend in some of the hostile comments and tweets this project attracts. Viewers were conflating a gun control protest in Tennessee with a pro-LGBTQ protest in Kentucky. I decided to do some digging to see where Fox viewers may have seen this false narrative.
To do this I had to go back a bit farther than I usually do for a newsletter. After searching through older episodes from last week and the week prior I found the link. Both Will Cain and Tucker Carlson created a false connection between two separate demonstrations in two completely different states.
Although the criminal arraignment of former President Donald J. Trump was also last week the network focused so much time and energy on it I dedicated a podcast for that one event which can be found here.
Shows I covered last week - included in this newsletter
Fox & Friends - 1st hour
The Five
Tucker Carlson Tonight
A Timeline of the False Narrative of Two Protests and a Mass Shooting
Due to the ambiguity of the gender of the Nashville shooter I will refer to this person with the gender neutral pronouns - they/them. I will also refrain from using their legal name. The shooter might have been seeking notoriety when they committed their heinous crime and I refuse to give it to them.
Monday - 3/27/23
Nashville, Tennessee - A trans person kills three children and three adults at a Christian school they attended as a child. The shooter is killed by police.
Wednesday - 3/29/23
Frankfort, Kentucky - The Kentucky legislature overrides the Governor’s veto of an anti-LGBTQ bill.
Thursday - 3/30/23
Nashville, Tennessee - protests broke out in the state capitol. The crowds demanded more action on gun control.
Washington D.C. - during a press conference at the White House a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about the anti-LGBTQ bill passed in Kentucky the day before.
After explaining that Biden supported peaceful protests Jean-Pierre broke down the administration’s view of the situation.
“It is it is shameful and it is unacceptable. As you mentioned, tomorrow's trans visibility day on a day that we should be lifting up our trans kids or trans youth and making sure that they feel seen. We're seeing more and more of these hateful, hateful bills. And that's what Republicans want to spend their time on. They don't want to talk about lowering costs.
They don't want to talk about actually making Americans lives better. They want to take away people's freedoms. And one of the things that we saw during the midterm elections is that people don't want their freedoms to be taken. They want us to fight for their freedoms. And so it is shameful. It is disturbing. And our hearts go out to those the trans community as they are under attack right now.
But this is a president who has said many times before he has their backs. He will continue to have their backs and he will continue to fight for them. And his record shows that.,” said Jean-Pierre.
Friday - 3/31/23
Frankfort, Kentucky - on Trans Visibility Day activists protested the anti-LGBTQ law passed by the Kentucky legislature.
Fox News - Jesse Watters Primetime. Will Cain, substitute host, uses a clip of Karine Jean-Pierre speaking about the trans community from the day before Cain conflates the clip with the school shooting in Nashville - the two incidents are not related
Cain started by describing the gun control rally in Tennessee.
“You may have missed this, but yesterday, hundreds of anti-gun activists stormed the Tennessee state Capitol building of the school massacre committed by a trans shooter. Earlier this week, and as you'd expect, they went berserk,” said Cain.
Cain then featured a footage from the Tennessee capitol building which included a chaotic scene of hundreds of mostly young protesters.
“Know after a standoff with police in the halls of the Capitol building. Activists then managed to break into an act of legislative chamber. No action protesters were seen in that capitol building holding up, by the way, seven fingers in the air screaming seven lives, as in seven victims of that shooting. Remember, six victims were killed by one shooter, a trans identified shooter who was not in any way a victim in the shooting. And yet there she is, counted among the seven, which is really what they've been doing all week, said Cain.
It’s not at all unusual for the gunman to be included in the total death count of a mass shooting event.
Then Cain briefly mentioned a quote by the Daily Mirror that was mentioned the shooter’s artwork and CBS’s policy to not use the word “transgender” in regards to the gunman.
The Fox News host made a pivot to the protests in Kentucky that had happened the day before.
“Meanwhile, a group of trans activists in Kentucky stormed a Capitol building as well, not just Tennessee, but Kentucky,” said Cain.
Cain used the term meanwhile implying both events happened at the same day. They did not. The protests in support of the trans community in Kentucky were not related to the gun control protests in Nashville.
The only thing the two events had in common was that the Nashville shooter identified as trans.
“And yes, this time there was even a trans shaman,” said Cain.
He then cut to a media clip that featured a large man in face makeup shouting “Shame, shame, shame.”
“In the same week, a trans person shoots up a school in state buildings, gets stormed by trans shamans. And so how's the White House coping with all this? Well, they're in mourning. But for the trans community,” said Cain
This was the so called trans shaman. Cain then tried to equate the protest to the riots on January 6th by jokingly calling the pro-LGBTQ event an insurrection.
With that phrase he falsely linked the two events. Cain then took things even further as he took a statement the White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, out of context.
“People don't want their freedoms to be taken. They want us to fight for their freedoms. And so it is shameful. It is disturbing. And our hearts go out to those the trans community as they are under attack right now. But this is a president who has said many times before he has their backs,” said Jean-Pierre.
Jean-Pierre’s statement was an answer to a question from a journalist about the newly passed anti-LGBTQ Kentucky law. It was not about the shooting in Nashville and it wasn’t about her random thoughts about the LGBTQ community.
Thursday - 4/6/23
White House Press Conference - Karine Jean-Pierre begins with a statement about the many anti-LGBTQ laws that have been passed recently all over the country. After she listed bills and laws in several states Jean-Pierre then addressed the LGTBQ community.
“This is a dangerous a dangerous attack on the rights of parents to make the best health care decisions for their own kids, according to the Human Rights Campaign. More than 50% of transgender youth in the U.S., which is estimated to be more than 150,000 kids, live in states in which transgender youth have lost access to or at risk of losing access to gender affirming care.
Look, this is awful news. Will it be very clear about that? LGBTQI+ kids are resilient. They are fierce. They fight back. They're not going anywhere. And we have their back. This administration has their back. We are so proud of the kids across this country who have organized protest and school walkouts to tell the politicians in their states to stop this legislative bullying.
I know that these political attacks can really take a toll on people's mental health. So I want to say directly to LGBTQI+ kids, you are loved just as you are just the way you are. And if you're feeling overwhelmed, you call 988 the National Crisis Hotline and dial the number three to talk to a counselor who has been specifically trained to support LGBTQ kids, ” said Jean-Pierre.
Friday 4/7/23
Fox News - Tucker Carlson Tonight - Carlson makes multiple references that conflate the pro-LGBTQ protests in Kentucky with the pro-gun control protests in Nashville.
“Last week, rioters stormed the Tennessee State House. They shut down the government in the name of child genital mutilation and gun seizures,” said Carlson.
Notice the chyron says the protest is in Tennessee but the graphic to the right of Carlson’s face reads “transurrection.”
The protests in Tennessee were about gun control and had nothing to do with the LGBTQ community.
Carlson then took Jean-Pierre’s quote out of context.
“Plus, kids are resilient. They are fierce. They fight back. They're not going anywhere. And we have their back. This administration has their back,” said Jean-Pierre in a clip from the press briefing from the day before.
The Fox host mocked her words.
“They are fierce. They fight back. This administration has their back,” said Carlson.
Carlson then makes an assumption based on absolutely no evidence.
“So this is coming on the heels just days after a massacre in which children were murdered, apparently in response to laws against chemical and surgical castration of children,” said Carlson
The Nashville shooter was 28-years-old. They attacked a school they attended as a child. Although the shooter did release some form of manifesto explaining their motives it has not yet been released to the press or public.
Carlson has no idea why the shooter targeted a school they attended as a child. To assume it was over laws regarding gender affirming care in youth is complete speculation on his part.
“So the White House is not decrying that. The White House is endorsing it as clearly as it possibly could. And that's why no one from the Biden White House is visiting the grieving Christian families in Nashville,” said Carlson.
That is not accurate as First Lady Dr. Jill Biden attended a candlelight vigil in Nashville for the victims of the shooting on March 29th two days after the event.
“Instead, today, Kamala Harris went to Nashville to promote three Democratic Party legislators who led a riot at the state house, a riot designed to promote, yes, the cult of transgenderism,” said Carlson.
The protest in Nashville was for gun reform not LGBTQ rights or gender affirming care. It’s hard for me to believe that Carlson and his staff didn’t realize there were two separate protests a day apart in two different states.
Greg Abbott Does The Bidding of Tucker Carlson
Last Friday, Army Sgt. Daniel Perry, 33, a driver for Uber, was found guilty of murder after he shot and killed Garrett Foster during a police brutality protest in Austin, Texas in the summer of 2020.
The protest was part of a series of demonstrations that broke out all over the country after the police killing of George Floyd.
According to police, Perry stopped his car and honked as protesters walked through the street near the state Capitol. Seconds later, he drove directly into the crowd.
There are conflicting reports as to what happened next but Perry ended up shooting and killing Foster, a 28-year-old Air Force veteran who was openly carrying an AK-47 rifle which is legal in Texas. Perry was also legally carrying his weapon.
After he shot Foster, Perry fled the area. He later called police and reported the crime citing self-defense.
The case involved the controversial ‘stand your ground’ law, which allows someone to use deadly force if they feel their life is in danger.
Some of Perry’s social media posts about retaliating against protesters raised questions about his claim of self-defense. Witnesses testified that Perry seemed to drive intentionally into the crowd before killing Foster.
Tucker Carlson was enraged by the verdict.
“So during the last outbreak of armed extremism, which of course was the BLM riots of 2020, former Army sergeant called Daniel Daniel Perry was driving for Uber in Austin, Texas. He was an Uber driver. He's in his car and a mob of rioters surround him in the middle of the street and begin hitting his car. One member of the mob was a man called Garrett Foster,” said Carlson.
Both men were veterans but Carlson only mentioned Perry’s military service.
Carlson also only told one side of the story.
“Foster is a militant with a history of waving his rifle at people. He approached Perry's driver's side window with an AK-47. Then he raised the rifle. And when he did that, Perry shot and killed him in self-defense. The lead detective in the case and the Austin police concluded it was a justified shooting. If that's not a justified shooting, there's no such thing,” said Carlson.
The Fox News host then made a huge assumption regarding the District Attorney in Austin, Texas.
“But because Austin, Texas, the justice system is overseen by a Soros funded D.A., Perry was charged with murder for defending himself. And tonight, we are sad to tell you, this man, a military veteran driving an Uber car, was convicted of murder. And what does that mean? It means that in the state of Texas, if you have the wrong politics, you're not allowed to defend yourself,” said Carlson.
He continued.
“So this is a legal atrocity. It's so obviously unjust that tonight we extended the invitation to the sitting governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, to come on this show on Monday. And we wanted to ask if he was considering a pardon for Daniel Perry. But for some reason, Governor Greg Abbott's office told us he just can't make it and that we should talk to the Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, instead. So that is Greg Abbott's position. There is no right of self-defense in Texas. We're going to keep trying to reach the governor of Texas,” said Carlson.
Within 24 hours of the segment on Tucker Carlson Tonight, Gov. Abbott declared he would seek to pardon Perry. There’s no way of knowing if Carlson’s show had any influence on the governor’s decision but many in the media think it might have played a role.
Republicans are the Dog that Caught the Car - Roe v Wade
Now that Republicans finally achieved their goal of overturning Roe v Wade some are realizing that reproductive rights are more popular with voters than they expected.
Dana Perino summed this up on The Five, after a brief discussion of the Chicago mayoral race.
“Republicans yesterday lost the Wisconsin Supreme Court race as well. There was something very interesting that happened in Chicago that's connected with Wisconsin in my mind. Well, two things, actually. This guy, the new mayor, Brandon Johnson. Most of the ads that he did against Paul Vallas were about abortion because ten years or so ago, Paul Vallas had something mildly supportive of a pro-life position, but then said, but I just want everybody to do their own thing.
But for me personally, I would be pro-life. So they tagged him as a pro-life, crazy nut, and there was no response on it. And that has nothing to do with the running of a city. Now, going next door to Wisconsin, Republicans lose by ten points. Now, they won a lot of the conservative ballot issues, the issues that are on the ballot.
But the candidate on the Republican Supreme Court case, he lost by ten points. And Republicans used to be able to count on their voters turning out in the midterms. The left has really woken up to making sure that Gen Z gets out and vote. If you look at the vote and where it came from, especially in Wisconsin at the University of Madison, for example, the University of Wisconsin in Madison, it was staggering.
The numbers are staggering. And that is going to happen all across the country,” said Perino.
Stories Fox News Ignored
Every week I compare 15 hours of Fox News to five hours of the PBS News Hour. The following is a list of stories PBS covered that Fox News did not.
Former Vice President Mike Pence has agreed to testify in the special counsel’s investigation into former President Donald J. Trump’s role in the riots on January 6th.
A U.S. drone strike in northwestern Syria killed, Khalid 'Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri a senior member of ISIS.
The U.S. announced it will send $6.2 billion more in weapons aid to help Ukraine.
Russian commissioner for children’s rights rejects ICC war crime allegations regarding Ukrainian children as false.
The woman suspected of being involved with a bombing that killed a popular Russian military blogger in St. Petersburg will be held for two months pending the investigation into the case. The blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, was an enthusiastic supporter of the war in Ukraine. He was killed via a bomb hidden in an award presented to him.
Workers at U.K. passport offices launched a five-week strike over wages.
A federal judge in Texas halted the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. Medical abortion is used in over half of all abortions in the United States.
Last month the U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs and unemployment fell to 3.5%
Protests continue across France due to Emmanuel Macron’s decision to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
The city of Paris, France voted 90% in a referendum to ban rental e-scooters. The vehicles have caused countless accidents and are seen as a nuisance.
French President Emmanuel Macron met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. During an interview on route back to France Macron was quoted as saying, “Europe must reduce its dependency on the United States and avoid getting dragged into a confrontation between China and the U.S. over Taiwan.”
For over 20 years Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas received lavish trips from a Republican mega donor Harlan Crow. Crow is also a collector of Nazi memorabilia which he displays prominently in his home including a signed copy of Mein Kampf.
In honor of its 75th birthday the CIA debuted a museum. The museum is not available to the public as its located within CIA headquarters but visitors can peruse through its exhibits online.
Indiana and Idaho banned gender affirming care for minors.
The Kansas legislature barred transgender athletes from competing in school sports from kindergarten to college. President Biden blocked outright bans of trans athletes in schools and has proposed changes to Title IX that would include trans athletes. His changes would also add protections for students who accuse others of sexual assault or harassment.
The governor of Idaho just signed a law that would make it illegal for people to help pregnant minors leave the state to obtain an abortion.
The EPA issued new standards for pollutants discharged through waste water from power plants.
PBS produced a segment on the high cost prisoners and their families pay for basic communication via phone and video conference. Studies show the more contact a prisoners has with family and people outside the prison system the less likely they are to re-offend.
The Justice Department reached a settlement with survivors and families of victims of a shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. The Air Force never reported that the gunman had received a court martial for assault. If his past crimes had been reported he wouldn’t have been able to legally obtain the firearm he used in the shooting.
Finland officially joined NATO as the 31st country to join the defensive alliance.
PBS continued its comprehensive series of segments on the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War.
An extended investigation by the Attorney General of Maryland found that Catholic priests molested children over the span of 80 years in the Baltimore Archdiocese. The 456-page investigation details how 158 clergy, teachers, seminarians and deacons allegedly assaulted more than 600 children going back to the 1940s. Most of the offenders are deceased.
NASA announced a crew of four astronauts for the Artemis II mission to the moon.
PBS included an extended segment about the parent perception gap - when parents think their children are more proficient in school than their skill levels show.
On Tuesday Palestinian worshippers barricaded themselves inside Al-Aqsa Mosque at the Old City’s sensitive compound. They were removed by Israeli police. After the unrest Israeli media reported 16 rockets fired from Gaza which were shot down by missile defense. There were no reported casualties.
On Friday in Tel Aviv a Palestinian driver ran car into group of people killing an Italian citizen and injuring seven. The attack came after two British-Israeli sisters were killed and their mother injured in a shooting in the occupied West Bank earlier the same day.
PBS included an extended segment on the Global Seed Vault in Norway and the role it can play with increasing severe climate changes.
By the Numbers
Although I also covered seven hours of Fox News for the day Trump was arraigned in New York City these charts only include the week for the first hour of Fox & Friends, The Five, and Tucker Carlson Tonight.
The nonsense economic pro-Russia theory category was an extended monologue on Tucker Carlson Tonight. There was no easy way to describe Carlson’s nonsensical economic theory that made sanctions against Russia seem dangerous to the strength of the U.S. dollar.
Coming up…
This week I’ll be covering the first hour of Fox & Friends, The Five, and Hannity.