Jon Karl Hails Fox News Pandemic Coverage as ‘Very Responsible’, Despite Tucker Carlson, Alex Berenson, Etc.

ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jon Karl took a magnanimous view of Fox News’ coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, claiming “much of it” was “very responsible.”

Karl joined CNN+ host Chris Wallace and former CBS News correspondent Jacqueline Adams for a discussion on political polarization and the media hosted by the Common Ground Committee. Karl spoke about Donald Trump downplaying the deadliness of Covid, the former president’s his decision not to get vaccinated on camera, and Karl’s hypothesis that Trump was trying to appease his supporters who distrust vaccines.

“It’s not the media creating this, the media reflecting it. The polarization was there,” Karl said. “I think Fox’s coverage actually of the pandemic, for much of it, was very responsible. They weren’t repeating a lot of this stuff. Not across the board, for sure, but I don’t think you can blame this on media coverage.”

Despite the caveat Karl included with his commentary, it is interesting that he would deem “much of” Fox’s pandemic coverage “very responsible” given the network’s track record, and the well-earned criticism its coverage faced from the rest of the industry.

Many of the network’s most prominent figures fueled vaccine skepticism with blatant misinformation and leveled partisan attacks at public health officials throughout the pandemic.

Beyond its own hosts, over the last two years, the network on multiple occasions gave a platform to pundits who minimized the deadliness of Covid — even as the virus went on to kill nearly 1 million Americans.

While the network’s top opinion hosts repeatedly questioned vaccines — often pushing false claims in the process — they pushed alternative remedies for Covid that have proved to be ineffective. Laura Ingraham, Brian Kilmeade, and Tucker Carlson all boosted hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin in the past, even while their colleagues warned such drugs were not a proven remedy for Covid.

A new study found that ivermectin does nothing to reduce the risk of Covid hospitalization, a development these Fox News hosts completely ignored after spending years pushing the drug.

As for vaccines, the network aired PSAs encouraging shots and public health last year, and vaccines were encouraged on air a number of times. Those appeals were drowned out, however, as several of Fox’s most-watched figures proudly announced their refusal to get inoculated, while others fueled skepticism of vaccine effectiveness. On top of that, the network has aired frequent attacks against efforts to publicly promote vaccines.

Perhaps the worst offender is Tucker Carlson. Over the course of the pandemic, Carlson has likened vaccine mandates to Nazi medical experiments, advised people to harass those who wear masks in public, suggested people buy fake vaccine cards, and regularly pushed vaccine skepticism. He has repeatedly suggested — based on false information — that the vaccines are deadly, and make it more likely to contract Covid.

Additionally, Carlson has repeatedly given a platform to Alex Berenson (dubbed “the pandemic’s wrongest man” by The Atlantic) who has pushed anti-vaccine talking points that have been debunked by experts. Berenson is now quite literally suggesting people just contract Covid.

Asking Karl to reckon with all that commentary during a panel discussion might have been too much to ask. But it can’t be ignored, and makes a mockery of the claim that Fox’s Covid coverage meets his standard of “very responsible.”

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.