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The talking heads of Fox News are warning parents not to let their children trick-or-treat for Halloween this year following a warning from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) about fentanyl designed to look like candy.
Last month, the agency issued a bulletin after brightly colored fentanyl pills, powder and blocks were seized in 18 states, part of a “deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults.”
Earlier this week, Fox News dedicated an entire segment to "rainbow fentanyl," engaging in their latest edition of moral panic featuring network personality Jeanine Pirro saying parents should not "let their kids get that candy."
You can watch the coverage in the video below.
\u201cTaking the next logical step in the rainbow fentanyl panic, Fox News is now literally telling viewers not to let their kids go trick-or-treating this year.\u201d— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1664315253
In response to a statement from her co-host Jesse Watters about rainbow fentanyl being "very hard to detect," Pirro said:
"Young children going out now to trick-or-treat, basically parents have a decision to make: You don't let your kids get that candy."
"It doesn't mean the person giving it out is intending to harm."
Co-host Dana Perino said parents should reconsider having a "massive Halloween," adding:
"There are going to be small groups of families that we know, we're going to do this in our backyard, in our basement, that's how we're going to do it."
"I don't understand how 300 Americans a day [of fentanyl overdoses]." Remember, what did we do when COVID was killing 300 people a day? We shut down the entire economy."
"It's amazing to me that we don't have an emergency Cabinet meeting called by the President of the United States that says, 'Alright, I'm calling a meeting on Thursday at 8 a.m. and I want everyone of you to come in here with two ideas for how we're going to deal with this fentanyl crisis."
Perino went on to suggest Democratic President Joe Biden's administration is not undertaking "an emergency effort to get the word out to the national media."
In fact, the Biden administration addressed the overdose and fentanyl crisis, releasing a comprehensive fact sheet in the days following the DEA's bulletin detailing the White House's efforts.
Earlier this week, the White House announced recent actions as part of National Recovery Month which include but are not limited to awarding $1.5 billion to all states and territories "to address the opioid crisis and support individuals in recovery" as well as investing $104 million to expand substance abuse treatment in rural communities.
Fox News was swiftly mocked for its melodramatic and misleading coverage.
\u201cI assure you, this is a manufactured panic.\nJust like razor blades in apples when I was a kid, it never happens.\n\nQuit letting media scare you \nGo out and Trick or Treat with your kids\u201d— Chase Oliver (@Chase Oliver) 1664375745
\u201cNobody is gonna give your kids drugs cause drugs are expensive and the people who buy em usually wanna use em\u201d— Ben White (@Ben White) 1664372074
\u201cFox uses fear and anger as weapons against their OWN viewers \nBE AFRAID \nVERY AFRAID \nOf Halloween candy,School Books,other Americans medical decisions,that have nothing to do with you\nBUT...MOST OF ALL\nBE AFRAID OF OTHER AMERICANS \nAND,After ya won't be afraid anymore\nGET MAD!\u201d— #ZeroFucksGiven (@#ZeroFucksGiven) 1664333411
\u201cThe War On Halloween continues.\u201d— Cody Johnston (@Cody Johnston) 1664337228
\u201cWhy would any drug dealer just give away their drugs for free?\u201d— Giancarlo Ubaldino (@Giancarlo Ubaldino) 1664331508
\u201cI\u2019ll say what I\u2019ve said to every previous iteration of this dumb panic: Nobody is wasting their expensive drugs on your kid.\u201d— Julian Sanchez (@Julian Sanchez) 1664332050
\u201cFear of contamination, fear of the other, fear of children being corrupted -- this is primal reactionary politics.\u201d— David Roberts (@David Roberts) 1664332965
\u201cPicturing a mom in a golf course suburb telling her kids that no they cant go trick or treating because who knows what member of the HOA could be handing out fent\u201d— nikki mccann ram\u00edrez (@nikki mccann ram\u00edrez) 1664326928
\u201cIt\u2019s sort of amazing how every single year since 1982 they\u2019ve run this Halloween parent-punking game with a slightly modified script. It used to be razor blades in apples.\u201d— A.R. (Actually Republic) Moxon (@A.R. (Actually Republic) Moxon) 1664331011
Halloween candy panic is nothing new.
For decades, parents have heard urban legends and received "viral warnings of poisoned candy or candy distributed with sharp items like razors or needles inside," according to the fact-checking website Snopes.
Snopes noted the DEA's news release "made no mention of drug-laced Halloween candy."
However, Ronna McDaniel—Chairwoman of the Republican National Commitee—warned about rainbow fentanyl getting "into my kid’s Halloween basket" one day after Fox News reported "hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills" had been seized by United States Customs and Border Protection agents in Arizona.