Media Matters

You Lie!





Beck rehashes false claims in baselessly suggesting Obama acting on behalf of bank


Glenn Beck repeated discredited falsehoods about the Community Reinvestment Act and President Obama's Chicago house while baselessly suggesting that the Obama administration is aiding a troubled, "politically connected" Chicago-based bank. In fact, the White House has denied any involvement in helping the bank. Read More

Fox baselessly declares it "a gigantic lie" that AZ law could lead to racial profiling

Fox News' Steve Doocy accused Mexican President Felipe Calderón of telling "a gigantic lie" by saying that Arizona's new immigration law introduces racial profiling into law enforcement. However, law enforcement officers have also expressed this concern and legal experts have rejected the claim that modifications made to the law eliminate the risk of racial profiling. Read More

Fox falsely suggests financial reform to blame for market drops

Fox & Friends repeatedly falsely suggested the stock market declines in the U.S. and Asia were solely in response to the Senate passing financial reform, despite the fact that guest Stuart Varney said the drops were "not about" the legislation. Indeed, the declines are largely blamed on economic instability in Europe. Read More

Special Report fails to address Stossel's call to repeal part of the Civil Rights Act

Despite reporting on the controversy surrounding Rand Paul's criticism of portions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Fox News' Special Report did not address the fact that Fox News' John Stossel called for the repeal of the portion of the act that prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation. Read More

Bossie's Post op-ed distorts Kagan on free speech

Citizens United president David Bossie took his false attacks on Elena Kagan to the pages of The Washington Post, writing an op-ed that distorted the Citizens United Supreme Court case to falsely paint Kagan as anti-free-speech.  Read More

Gingrich slams Obama admin over Blair resignation without fully disclosing his ties to Blair

Newt Gingrich has appeared on Fox News to attack President Obama over the resignation of Dennis Blair as the director of National Intelligence without disclosing that Gingrich and Blair were both members of a nonprofit defense group that reportedly benefited from a $2.4 million federal contract awarded in 2008. Read More

Wash. Times op-ed falsely claims Kagan wouldn't let "willing Harvard law students" meet with military recruiters


A Washington Times op-ed baselessly claimed that Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan promoted an "anti-military campaign" while dean of Harvard Law, citing the false claim that Kagan "den[ied] JAG officers and willing Harvard law students the opportunity to meet and talk about opportunities to serve in the military." In fact, students had access to military recruiters throughout Kagan's tenure as dean, and Kagan's respect for the military is well established. Read More

Wash. Times falsely suggests past warm periods disprove human-caused global warming

A Washington Times editorial falsely suggested global warming science is undermined by studies indicating that the planet, at least in some regions, saw exceptional warmth thousands of years ago. But climate experts don't dispute that certain regions have experienced natural warm and cool periods throughout history; they say climate change of the past half century is "different" because it can't be explained by "natural changes alone." Read More

Beck mixes up his talking points, runs with distortions of previous climate bill

Glenn Beck falsely claimed that "this new cap-and-trade bill" extends unemployment insurance by three years and encourages workers to move overseas. In fact, the energy bill most recently considered in Congress, sponsored by Sens. John Kerry and Joe Lieberman, has no such provisions, and Beck's claims distort provisions from the Waxman-Markey bill that the House passed last year. Read More

Beck distorts FEMA facts to claim Obama is "destroying charity and our faith"

Glenn Beck claimed that a FEMA videographer asking volunteers to remove their Salvation Army T-shirts at a disaster cleanup site indicates that the Obama administration is "destroying charity and our faith." But the day before, FEMA's administrator said the videographer was "absolutely wrong" and apologized to the Salvation Army. Read More