Fox Hilariously Asks Why Benghazi Wasn’t Covered Like Khan Speech

Lies from Fox News are like death and taxes. They’re inevitable. So when Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade say that an RNC speech from Patricia Smith, whose son was killed in the Benghazi attack was not covered by any networks, but everybody covered Khizr Khan’s, you have to look at the facts.

First, here is the big lie:

STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): [The Khan family] lost their son, but there is a double standard. The mainstream media is paying all the attention to the Khan family and yet not so much to the Smith family. Sean Smith lost his life in Benghazi and it was one week earlier at the Republican convention where Pat Smith directly and personally blamed Hillary Clinton for her son getting killed. And why isn’t this getting coverage?
 
[…]
 
BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): Meanwhile, I was on the floor for that. I did not know that no networks covered her. Nobody covered those remarks live but almost everybody covered Khan’s, Mr. Khan’s remarks live.
 
DOOCY: There is a double standard it seems.

And now the facts:

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It turns out that as Media Matters for America has pointed out,

1) Fox News is the ONLY network to NOT cover Patrica Smith’s speech; and,
2) EVERY network BUT Fox News covered Khizl Khan’s speech.

So nobody from Fox News is in any position to complain about coverage of Patricia Smith’s speech, since they didn’t air it themselves. In fact, both speeches were equally covered because in each case, Fox News was notable by its absence.

Which brings us to the issue of coverage of the so-called Benghazi scandal.

Previously (September 2014), Media Matters for America detailed the amount of coverage dedicated to the Benghazi hoax by its creator, Fox News:

• 1,098 total Fox News evening segments that included significant discussion of Benghazi — an average of about 13 segments per week
• In 18 of 20 months studied, Fox ran at least 20 Benghazi segments per month, with a high of 174 in October 2012
• 382 segments aired on Special Report, the network’s flagship news program
• 478 segments invoked the talking points used for Susan Rice’s 2012 Sunday show appearances
• 281 segments alleging a “cover-up” by the Obama administration
• 144 interviews of GOP members of Congress versus only five interviews of Democratic members of Congress and Obama administration officials
• 120 comparisons to Iran-Contra, Watergate, and the actions of the Nixon administration
• 105 attempts to link Benghazi to Hillary Clinton’s potential presidential ambitions
• 100 segments promoting the lie that the administration issued a “stand-down order”

And obviously, this is just Fox News and not the other networks, and the list above ends two years ago. The coverage has not ceased, or even let up. So when Fox News asks why people didn’t talk about Benghazi, or specifically, Patricia Smith’s speech, as much as they’re talking about the Khan speech, you are reminded that Fox News’ sole focus is on inventing Republican-friendly “news” rather than reporting actual events.

Worse, the reason Fox News didn’t air Khan’s speech is because it was airing a Benghazi attack ad instead. Stay classy, Fox.

Hrafnkell Haraldsson

Hrafnkell Haraldsson, a social liberal with leanings toward centrist politics has degrees in history and philosophy. His interests include, besides history and philosophy, human rights issues, freedom of choice, religion, and the precarious dichotomy of freedom of speech and intolerance. He brings a slightly different perspective to his writing, being that he is neither a follower of an Abrahamic faith nor an atheist but a polytheist, a modern-day Heathen who follows the customs and traditions of his Norse ancestors. He maintains his own blog, A Heathen’s Day, which deals with Heathen and Pagan matters, and Mos Maiorum Foundation www.mosmaiorum.org, dedicated to ethnic religion. He has also contributed to NewsJunkiePost, GodsOwnParty and Pagan+Politics.