Fox Journalist Resigns: Sick of Being Part of a ‘Trump Propaganda Operation’

Fox News foreign correspondent Conor Powell abruptly resigned from his job Friday after nine years with the network. Based in Jerusalem, the well-regarded journalist announced his decision briefly in a Facebook post. He said he would be returning to his home in the United States.

“After nearly 9 years, I have decided to resign from Fox News. Those of you who have spoken to me in recent months, you will understand why I am leaving FNC,” his Facebook post said. “To my many friends at the channel I wish you the best of luck.”

Powell’s resignation comes at the same time that other reports have surfaced about unhappy Fox News staff members. Several staff members have reportedly said that they are tired of seeing the network transformed into a pro-Trump propaganda channel.

Powell has not publicly discussed the reasons that he is leaving his position with Fox. However, an unidentified source within the conservative news network reported that he is “just one of many” people on the Fox News team who are frustrated with the network’s direction and editorial policies. They said the increasing emphasis on providing unqualified support for “Trump-loving opinion hosts” such as Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and Laura Ingraham has taken the place of actual news reporting. This has alienated and frustrated many employees who see their roles as reporting news, not just providing pro-Trump opinions, the source said.

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

“Lots of reporters are very unhappy with directions of Fox News Corporation right now,” the source reportedly explained. “Fewer news shows. More opinion shows. Less resources for reporters to report.”

Earlier this year Fox News military analyst Ralph Peters also stepped down from the network. Peters specifically said he was leaving because Fox had become nothing but a Trump propaganda operation. At the time Peters issued the following statement to explain why he resigned:

“Today, I feel that Fox News is assaulting our constitutional order and the rule of law, while fostering corrosive and unjustified paranoia among viewers.”

“Fox has degenerated from providing a legitimate and much-needed outlet for conservative voices to a mere propaganda machine for a destructive and ethically ruinous administration.”

Certainly many average Americans who are not fans of Fox News strongly agree with Peters’ conclusion that by providing a megaphone for Trump to tell his lies, and by becoming little more than “state TV” Fox is definitely “assaulting our constitutional order and the rule of law.”

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.