WATCH: Local Fox Reporter Goes Rogue on Live TV, Claims the Network’s ‘Muzzling’ Her
A reporter for Fox 26 in Houston went rogue on Monday to tease an upcoming release of recordings that she suggested would show Fox Corp is “muzzling” her.
The studio went to Ivory Hecker for a live hit about the heatwave scorching Texas and much of the southern and western United States. But before delivering her report, Hecker had an axe to grind with her local station:
Before we get to that story, I want to let you the viewers know that Fox Corp. has been muzzling me to keep certain information from you the viewers. And from what I’m gathering, I am not the only reporter being subjected to this. I am going to be releasing some recordings about what goes on behind the scenes at Fox because it applies to you the viewers. I found a nonprofit journalism group called Project Veritas that’s gonna help put that out tomorrow, so tune into them. But as for this heat wave across Texas, you can see what it’s doing to AC units.
Project Veritas is notorious for secretly recording subjects and has been roundly criticized for its tactics. The organization and its founder James O’Keefe gained attention in 2009, after it secretly recorded workers at an umbrella group for community organizations. O’Keefe posed as a pimp, while another Project Veritas employee posed as his prostitute under the guise of seeking guidance on how to avoid pay taxes on a brothel.
More recently, in 2017 Project Veritas targeted The Washington Post in a sting operation that apparently wasn’t convincing enough, as reporters had become suspicious over inconsistencies in the story of one its operatives. The Post ended up outing the woman as a fraud after they spotted her walking into the offices of Project Veritas.
In February, Twitter permanently suspended the Project Veritas account due to repeated violations of its private information policy. O’Keefe’s account was permanently suspended in April for violating Twitter rules about “platform manipulation and spam.”
UPDATE — 6/15, 6:34 pm: In a statement provided to Mediaite, a Fox 26 spokesperson said, “FOX 26 adheres to the highest editorial standards of accuracy and impartiality. This incident involves nothing more than a disgruntled former employee seeking publicity by promoting a false narrative produced through selective editing and misrepresentation.”
Watch above via Fox 26 Houston.
