Fox News Doesn't Want To Talk About Todd Akin's Rape Comments

Right now, Republican Todd Akin is the 6th hottest Google search in the United States, thanks to an uproar over his anti-abortion comment, "If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole (pregnancy) thing down." But you'd probably not know that if you get your news from Fox. In fact, some might say the 'fair and balanced" network is deliberately ignoring a very bad day for a Republican senate candidate. UPDATED

I spent about an hour today watching America Live and while there was lots of talk about President Obama and an abandoned dog, there was nothing about Akin.

It turns out that was not an anomaly. Think Progress noted:

While CNN and MSNBC — the two other main cable news channels — led with the Akin statement, Fox steered clear of the comments completely until 9:19 AM, referencing them in a loaded segment with Karl Rove without playing video of his remarks. The network didn’t air the remarks until 12:10 PM — showing the the clip well after Republicans (including GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney) harshly condemned the GOP Senate candidate from Missouri.

I just looked at the Fox Nation page and - nada. Well, nada about Akin. Plenty of posts designed to make President Obama look bad, though.

So I looked on Fox's video page and - nada. Funny how there always seems to be space and time for reports that are unflattering to Democrats, though.

FoxNews.com does have the story, although you'd have to look hard to find the name "Akin." And for some reason, Fox buried news about Republicans getting drunk and swimming or skinnydipping in the Sea of Galilee underneath it - though there's no relationship to the two stories other than that they're both sensational scandals about Republicans. But again, a story with a negative headline about Obama came first.

akin_foxnews.com.jpg

Buzzfeed posted a Twitpic of grabs from the three news networks. Guess which one was talking mergers and acquisitions?

UPDATE: 5:59 PM - There is now a video about Akin featured on Fox News' video page. FoxNews.com looks unchanged, as does Fox Nation.

UPDATE 2: 6:48 PM: Special Report just discussed this story with panelists saying "He's got to go." So you know it's probably as good as done now.

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Showing 30 reactions

Ellen commented 2012-08-22 02:24:48 -0400 · Flag

Thank you, W Mace!

Visitor 55 commented 2012-08-21 18:59:18 -0400 · Flag

@Don D. Yep. Masterful manipulation? Definitely. And it looks like the MORE Conservatives are the sheep who were targeted and responded exactly the way the Democratics wanted them to. Excellent play by the Democratics.

But to claim that “the Democratic party donated $1.5 m to Akins campaign” was just plain wrong of d smith.

Don D commented 2012-08-21 15:24:40 -0400 · Flag

@Visitor 55 – I read the article and came to the same conclusion. It was a neat trick of taking a fact – Ads for McCaskill were made appearing to make Akin appear MORE Conservative supposedly to make him less attractive to independents or whatever – and turning THAT into “Democrats spent $1.5M in support of Akin because they think he’ll be easier to beat”.

Masterful manipulation of facts for the bleating sheep.

mj - the same one commented 2012-08-21 14:53:10 -0400 · Flag

@D Smith: “Deceit and interfering with the voting public is OK?”

It’s apparently OK with Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. has donated over $500K to individuals and PACs, with the largest amount {nearly $59K} going to . . . . President Obama . . .

http://www.politicususa.com/rupert-murdochs-news-corp-donated-59000-reelect-obama.html

.

Aria Prescott commented 2012-08-21 14:38:18 -0400 · Flag

Zaglossus: True… and it doesn’t help that they had a lot of whining about petty crap.

Visitor 55 commented 2012-08-21 13:32:31 -0400 · Flag

@d smith – Well, I think you’re grasping at straws, d. I can’t find anything on CBS News that proves that the Democratics “donated $1.5 m to Akins campaign” like you claimed.

However, I did find a right-wing OPINION columnist who tries to imply that they did. Of course, the OPINION columnist has no proof.

What you’re doing d smith is taking an opinion and trying to make it a fact. The Democratics DID NOT donate $1.5 m to Akin’s campaign. You were lied to and instead of trying to find the truth you just keep spreading the misinformation and dishonesty. That’s the typical behavior of a well trained FoxGOPTV sheep.

zaglossus commented 2012-08-21 11:38:25 -0400 · Flag

On the other hand, MSNBC went overboard on Akin discussing almost nothing else.

ez commented 2012-08-21 09:59:58 -0400 · Flag

D Smith, it’s funny with only two comments here directed in your direction you could not answer to mine.

D Smith commented 2012-08-21 08:55:06 -0400 · Flag

Joseph, it’s funny that with all of the other comments here, you call me out for sources and talk about legitimate? Look it up on CBS News and the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Oh, excuse me, I forgot we are on the infamous watchdog site where credibility is such a high priority.

Visitor 55 commented 2012-08-21 08:41:28 -0400 · Flag

LOL@twatty/prick. The idiot and his/her ignorant teabagger goddess palin just don’t get it yet. ignorant teabagger goddess palin endorsed racist ignorant right-wing extremist pig named sarah stealsmen and the people of Missouri told palin to kiss their collective ass and went with a racist, sexist ignorant right-wing extremist pig named todd akin instead. Talk about the ignorant one not getting the hint.

ez commented 2012-08-21 05:27:46 -0400 · Flag

D Smith, when Mitt admitted to cross voting in primaries, was he interfereing with the democratic process as well?

I do so hope Akin hangs on at least until his face is shown several times at the republican convention, hopping up and down in support of the ticket.

He is priceless.

Joe Marsh commented 2012-08-21 02:44:06 -0400 · Flag

Akin came on live on the first hour of sewer-dweller Hannity’s radio show Mon. In fact, it was a rare departure for the Slanthead who usually devotes his whole first hour, without guests or callers, to a solo incoherrent Obama bashing rant.

From the outset, you could almost hear the disgust and rage in Hannity’s voice, as he continually browbeat Akin, trying to get him to drop out right there on the air (he refused). But was this because of Akin’s rape comments? Nooooo, not once did Hannity condem the congressman’s remarks. In fact, Akin got some instant Hannity rehab with compliments like: “I know you’ve apologized and your’re sincere….” “Your heart is in the right place…” (makes one want to puke!). Hannity’s disgust was purely due to Akin’s screwing up the chances of unseating McCaskill.

And as anyone who follows Hannity could have predicted, he spent a good 3-4 minutes complaining about the libs’ hypocracy, bringing up Joe “put ’em in chains” Biden, Bill Maher, et. al. [Hannity missed a few, but his fat little clean-up pit bull (6 pm, NY time), Mark Levin, covered the rest. Levin, the failed psychotic Philadelphia shyster (“I don’t want to take my thorazine!”) mentioned Chappaquidick and Juanita dozens of times in his first few minutes on the air before I forced myself to turn off the vile.]

So what does this teach us? That Hannity is a misogynist as well as a racist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, and an anti-semite (toward elderly, liberal American Jews). We knew all that!

Joseph West commented 2012-08-21 01:46:59 -0400 · Flag

D Smith…..sources please? We all know of the GOP’s trickery in Wisconsin earlier this year, but until you provide reputable evidence from legitimate sources, you need to keep quiet.

Bob Roberts commented 2012-08-21 01:39:03 -0400 · Flag

Klannity referred to Akin as "an obscure Congressman no one ever heard of. I don’t believe he even called him by his name. Nothing but Obama bashing in the first three segments, that was all I could stand. Didn’t watch the screech owl Ingraham, did she mention Akin at all???

Nothing less than we would expect from Faux. Virtually no coverage of Akin on air and the story buried on their website. How soon before Akin appears for some Klannity rehab or an appearance on the drug addict Limbaugh’s show??

Average American Patriot commented 2012-08-21 01:11:50 -0400 · Flag

Aria,

Ain’t it?

I can’t wait for Billdo to chime in “on the controversy” to be reminded of the “she was asking for it for walking in a skimpy outfit,” “he was enjoying himself since he didn’t have to go to school,” and “I would put two wines into you, preferably intravenously” and if “any b*tch dares to cross me, I’ll make her life a living hell”

Please, Please, Please St. Raygun!
Remind them of the rapes in the military and how “women were asking for it!”

Average American Patriot commented 2012-08-21 01:01:13 -0400 · Flag

Average American Patriot commented 2012-08-21 00:39:58 -0400 · Flag

Akin’s stupid “medically informed” statement smear all the way to 2nd coming of Raygun Ryan and about 200 other gNOpigs.

THAT is why you won’t hear it on the Fox gNOpig propaganda Network.

Sean Gokkun Hannity is already warming up for the “Look Ma! 200! NO HANDS! All tongue” special.

Aria Prescott commented 2012-08-21 00:38:38 -0400 · Flag

Fox News’ entire history of discussing both rape and abuse towards women consists of them saying ‘bitch earned it,’ and telling people to disagree to shut up before ending with ‘she earned it, but he went too far.’

Given that Snowmen will rule Hell before 93% of women will vote Republican again… I think keeping their mouths shut and letting the adults talk is the closest they’ve come to a wise decision in years. I say closest because it would have been wiser for them to speak up against that line.

W mace commented 2012-08-21 00:14:26 -0400 · Flag

Excellent investigative reporting, Ellen. I am also impressed by your patience. This kind of monitoring of Fox, very fact based, is what we need more of.

D Smith commented 2012-08-20 21:51:40 -0400 · Flag

Maybe they report that the Democratic party donated $1.5 m to Akins campaign in the hopes he would be easier to defeat than the other republican candidates. Deceit and interfering with the voting public is OK?

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