A new Media Matters study found that Fox showcased an anti-vaxxer an average of every three days in the last six months – all the while the hypocritical hosts uttered not a peep of complaint about the vaccine mandates they all comply with.

From Media Matters:

At least 54 people who said they were defying COVID-19 vaccine mandates by rejecting vaccination appeared a total of 59 times on Fox’s weekday programs from August 1 through January 31, according to a Media Matters review. 

That tally includes 21 appearances by medical personnel – 14 by nurses, 3 by doctors, and 4 by other health care workers. Fox’s decision to grant them a platform carries additional weight with Fox’s audience because, as star host Tucker Carlson stressed during an interview with a nurse, the fact that they “work in science” and have “decided not to take the vaccine” suggests that they “know” something “that the rest of us don't know.”

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On the air, Fox’s star hosts praise these vaccine resisters as “brave souls” who were “principled” enough to “fight back” after being “pushed into a corner” by the “unbelievable” “lunacy” of mandates, and as signs of the awakening of a “sleeping giant” against such policies.

Fox’s coverage doesn’t just encourage viewers to defy vaccine mandates, Media Matters points out, but also provides an incentive to do so: If a viewer chooses to leave a job rather than get vaccinated, they may win a star turn with their favorite Fox host.

They could also lose their lives and their livelihoods. A few days ago, I wrote about MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell fundraising for the family of Robert LaMay, a Washington state trooper who took early retirement rather than a vaccine, and told Gov. Jay Inslee to “kiss my a**” in a viral video. As I wrote in my post, LaMay was one of Fox's anti-vax heroes – until he died of COVID and got ghosted. He was quickly replaced by a new crop of anti-vax Fox heroes.

O’Donnell donated $10,000 to LaMay’s family’s GoFundMe page and successfully urged his viewers to donate, too, as LaMay left behind a wife and four children. I did not see a single Fox donor listed when I looked, five days after LaMay’s death.

Yes, it’s beyond strange that a television network would do so much to sicken and kill off its viewers but Fox News says its poison is “great for ratings” and viewer engagement. It’s also expedient for GOP politics. After sabotaging the fight against the pandemic, Republicans are blaming Biden for not ending it.

You can check out Fox News’ anti-vaxxism for thee but not for me as well as Tucker Carlson’s cowardice when asked about the Fox mandate below, via an October 22, 2021 video put together by Media Matters.