Critics Call For Boycott Of Fox News Advertisers After Graphic Shows Stock Market Rising After Black Deaths
Fox News is under fire and facing calls for a boycott after the network aired a graphic showing how the stock market has risen after prominent instances of violence against black men.
The graphic was displayed on Friday during a broadcast of Special Report with Bret Baier, showing how the S&P 500 rose after infamous deaths and attacks on black men, including the death of George Floyd, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the shooting death of teen Michael Brown that set off unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. The graphic drew considerable pushback from critics, with many calling for boycotts of the company’s advertisers.
As Variety reported, Fox News issued what the report noted was a rare apology, saying on Saturday that the graphic meant to show the market reaction to civil unrest and was not given the proper context.
“The infographic used on Fox News Channel’s ‘Special Report’ to illustrate market reactions to historic periods of civil unrest should have never aired on television without full context. We apologize for the insensitivity of the image and take this issue seriously,” the network said in a statement.
This is a horrific graphic to have put up on air.
My god. pic.twitter.com/HoDof1AN9l
— Yashar Ali ? ????? (@yashar) June 5, 2020
The Variety report noted that when Fox News was under the leadership of the now-deceased Roger Ailes, such apologies were almost never issued and the company stood by controversial reporting. However, it noted that the tenor within Fox News appears to be shifting, with Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch sending a memo to employees this week expressing sympathy for George Floyd and called for an understanding of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“It is essential that we grieve with the Floyd family, closely listen to the voices of peaceful protest and fundamentally understand that black lives matter,” the memo read.
The graphic continued to attract controversy even after the network issued an apology, with the hashtag #FoxNewsisRacist reaching the top of Twitter trends for Saturday and many critics calling for a boycott. Some shared names and contact information for the network’s advertisers, calling on those upset with the graphic to make their voice known by contacting the companies directly.
That is a tactic that Fox News critics have used to some success in the past, pressuring the company financially after controversial statements from on-air hosts. As GQ reported last year, controversial host Tucker Carlson lost more than 70 advertisers in less than a year after he made comments calling white supremacy “a hoax.” Critics have long pointed to Carlson for what they see as language sympathetic to white supremacist groups and ideas.
