Fox finally owned up to “regrettable errors” about its reporting of Muslims in Europe. But instead of fully correcting the record about what the supposedly Muslim-ruled “no go zones” really are, Fox host Julie Banderas suggested the neighborhoods are horrible slums where non-Muslims can go but probably shouldn’t.
Fox News has become the laughingstock of Europe this week as first England and then France lampooned its ignorant, Islamophobic reporting. Finally, more than a week after Fox started fear mongering about the so-called “no go zones,” the “fair and balanced” network decided it had better stop. However as recently as two nights ago, Sean Hannity was still fear mongering about "no go zones."
On January 12, Snopes debunked the supposed “no go zones,” noting they are actually called “zones urbaines sensibles” (ZUS) or “sensitive urban zones.” Snopes explains:
(T)he term is not a designator for large populations of Muslims. Rather, the highlighted areas are ones that have been afflicted with issues such as crime, poverty, unemployment, and blight and are therefore targeted for urban renewal initiatives.
…While large populations of Muslim residents inhabit cities and towns affected by the rumor (and may adhere to religious custom in large numbers), no areas of England, France, or the United States currently allow the laws of any religion to override their own laws. Areas designated as ZUS in France are not exempted from policing or French law, and are simply targeted for renewal initiatives. Likewise, residents of Dearborn and Hancock are not exempt from state or local law, regardless of the religion to which they adhere.
But Banderas suggests the areas, while not forbidden, are horrible slums that are de facto "no go zones":
BANDERAS: Over the course of this last week, we have made some regrettable errors on air regarding the Muslim population in Europe. Particularly with regard to England and France. Now, this applies especially to discussions of so-called ‘no go zones,’ areas where non-Muslims allegedly aren’t allowed in and police supposedly won’t go.
To be clear, there is no formal designation of these zones in either country and no credible information to support the assertion there are specific areas in these countries that exclude individuals based solely on the religion.
There are certainly areas of high crime in Europe as there are in the United States and other countries, where police and visitors enter with caution. We deeply regret the errors and apologize to any and all who may have taken offense including the people of France and England.
There was no explanation as to how Fox repeatedly made these errors or what took the network so long to cough up even this meager apology.
(H/T reader Richard)