Fox News has faced heavy criticism for its coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic and is currently under fire after one of the network's guests erroneously claimed that parents who threaten school boards over vaccine mandates and critical race theory will be sent to the country's military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
The claim came from Republican Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who, during an appearance on "The Faulkner Focus," insisted that President Biden's administration has branded these people "domestic terrorists."
The Biden administration has never used such language, but that didn't stop Brnovich from saying otherwise, as you can see in the video below.
Fox News fear-mongering: Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich tells Harris Faulkner the Biden administration is going to send "mom and pop at Gitmo" over school board threats.
Faulkner's response: "That is outrageous — could that really happen?" pic.twitter.com/XkJzjLnndw
— The Recount (@therecount) November 1, 2021
Brnovich said:
"Just because parents are exercising their First Amendment rights to speak out against critical race theory or even vaccine mandates does not make them domestic terrorists, and if we allow the Biden administration to continue this, God forbid you're going to end up with Mom and Pop at Gitmo."
"Think about how outrageous that is... to think about..."
"We are living in a time where we need to make sure that we are protecting our constitutional rights on every single level, from the local school board levels, to the state, and especially on the federal level."
Brnovich and Fox News have been harshly criticized for the segment.
This is what @FoxNews does best… LIE! #FoxNewsISFakeNews https://t.co/VPIQRxULZO
— John Gross (@JohnGro79925631) November 2, 2021
This is beyond a stretch. Asking parents to act like adults at school board meetings and not make threats sounds reasonable to most people. And escorting the unruly out has nothing to do with Gitmo. Fox News should grow a conscience, this is crazy talk. https://t.co/DB156OJDPy
— Mo Ray (@mo2dmax) November 2, 2021
@FoxNews loves the smell of torched straw men in the morning... https://t.co/bV6AfnUaS6
— Sabine Nölke (@SabineNolke) November 2, 2021
Fox News is too dangerous to be on T.V. https://t.co/NQvvsZ1bfQ
— Darrell "DC Statehood " West🌊🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@DarrellPMWest) November 2, 2021
Why vote for the .@gop? GOP is full of people like Mark. They love to spin stories which lead to violence. #GOP breads inbreds and violence https://t.co/VZO7njG4tG
— ExGOP_IL (@ExGOP_IL) November 2, 2021
How can anyone watch this network and take it seriously. I mean.....this guy reminds me of the My pillow guy https://t.co/Q3WxlK2jDM
— TheBoneCollector (@ScottinBayV) November 2, 2021
Who watches this crap? https://t.co/Me5V0MRJt4
— John Daly (@TheDalyPlanet) November 1, 2021
More proof that Americans are getting dumber BECAUSE of @FoxNews https://t.co/6Gk0VAzeGr
— 🗽TheObjectiveEngineer 🇺🇸 (@ColtsFan_Rick) November 1, 2021
@GeneralBrnovich is full of crap. Fear mongering, and Trump cultist ass-kissing, plain & simple.
He's running for US Senate in AZ. This lying, and the election lies he's pushing, should keep him far away from office. He's not fit for office. https://t.co/XUDskjAzHS
— KMG365 ☕ 🥀 🐝 (@starbucksgirl51) November 1, 2021
Pushback against Covid-19 vaccines and vaccine mandates has intensified as the Biden administration's vaccine mandate prepares to go into effect.
The mandate will affect roughly 100 million Americans. It will include a vaccine mandate for all federal workers and contractors, in addition to a requirement that large companies must mandate vaccines or regular testing for employees.
The Department of Labor (DOL) has confirmed that the mandate for businesses will be published soon.
It is being developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is crafting an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to enact the mandate, which requires all companies with at least 100 employees to require vaccines or weekly testing for employees.
Meanwhile, false claims that schools have been teaching critical race theory to young children has also inflamed hostilities among the right-wing, particularly since the publication of The 1619 Project, which repositions the consequences and legacy of slavery as elements vital to the historical narrative.
Critical race theory is a body of legal and academic scholarship that aims to examine how racism and disparate racial outcomes have shaped public policy via often implicit social and institutional dynamics.
Although critical race theory is just one branch of an incredibly varied arena of academic scholarship, it has nonetheless served as a flashpoint among the far-right amid a campaign by Republicans to energize conservative voters, particularly in school board elections.