Brian Stelter Slams the ‘Automatic Contrarianism’ of the Fox News Business Model: ‘It Has Life and Death Consequences’ Because of Covid

Sarah RumpfJul 10th, 2021, 6:39 pm
 

CNN’s Brian Stelter criticized the business model of his competition on Saturday, saying that Fox News’ “automatic contrarianism” was having “life and death consequences” by discouraging their viewers from getting the Covid-19 vaccine.

Stelter made the comments in an appearance on CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta, telling the show’s host that anti-vaccination propaganda has become much stronger this year.

“What I hear on right-wing radio and television is much more assertive and ridiculous,” said Stelter. “It’s not just hesitancy. It’s outright rejection of the vaccines.”

The show played a montage of recent segments from several conservative media outlets like Fox News and OAN, and the CPAC conference taking place in Dallas, Tx. this week.

Stelter mentioned that surveys showed that the gap in vaccinations between counties that voted for former President Donald Trump and those that voted for President Joe Biden was growing, with people in Trump counties increasingly hostile to getting the vaccine.

“And ultimately, the responsibility is partly on lawmakers and these right-wing media stars who are spreading disinformation,” said Stelter.

“I would like to ask some of these characters whether or not they’ve been vaccinated themselves,” said Acosta. “It would be great if they could disclose that as they are throwing all this garbage out there.”

There is “no reason for so many people to get sick and suffer, and in some cases die,” said Stelter, labeling what these media personalities were doing as “automatic contrarianism.”

“That’s basically the Fox News business model,” Stelter continued. “Do whatever the opposite is of what everybody else says. That can be all fun sometimes. But right now it has life and death consequences.”

“It’s prolonging the pandemic,” Acosta agreed. “It is keeping that virus out there,” and “is leading to deadlier variants, like the Delta variant.”

Watch the video above, via CNN.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.