Name: Fox 10 anchor Kari Lake doubles down on debunked coronavirus video on Twitter
Brand: azcentral.com
SKU: azcentral-com-29
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Fox 10 anchor Kari Lake doubles down on debunked coronavirus video on Twitter

preview

Arizona RepublicView CommentsWhat is Kari Lake thinking?Lake, a news anchor for Phoenix TV station Fox 10, took to Twitter to spotlight a recent viral video in which two California doctors promote lifting the shelter-in-place order in the state — doctors whose claims have been roundly criticized by health care professionals. that are “inconsistent with current science and epidemiology regarding COVID-19.”Citing a violation of its terms of service,&nbsp;YouTube removed video of the briefing by Drs. Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi. In the video, Erickson and Massihi&nbsp;used results of COVID-19&nbsp;tests in the Bakersfield area, where they own an urgent care center, to claim that the novel coronavirus is similar to the flu in its spread, and that isolation may in fact weaken the immune system.That removal may be a clue, you’d think, that something is amiss, that maybe a news anchor shouldn’t even give the appearance of throwing support behind such a theory.Nope. Instead, Lake noted YouTube’s action in a followup tweet and provided a link to the briefing on Facebook.“,” she wrote in her first&nbsp;tweet about the video on Saturday, April 25 (the capital letters are hers). “This front-line doc says we are WEAKENING our immune systems by staying in. Dr. Dan Erickson discusses real data w/no political filter. Watch to very end.”Then, on Monday, April 27, Lake , “It is no longer on Youtube, but it is on FB.”The link she provides is to a video posted by KERO-TV,&nbsp;a Bakersfield ABC affiliate.ANCHORS AT HOME:Lake’s original tweet got plenty of support in the comments (“ in this crazy media. I applaud you”), with a little pushback (“ in the first six weeks of the season?").That kind of reaction is not surprising. Social media is a breeding ground for half-cocked arguments for and against anything.The bigger and more damning pushback against the doctors’ claims comes from health professionals, including , which says the groups “jointly and emphatically condemn the recent opinions released by Dr. Daniel Erickson and Dr. Artin Massihi.“These reckless and untested musings do not speak for medical society and are inconsistent with current science and epidemiology regarding COVID-19. As owners of local urgent care clinics, it appears these two individuals are releasing biased, non-peer reviewed data to advance their personal financial interests without regard for the public’s health.”COVID-19:The statement goes on to say that “COVID-19 misinformation is widespread and dangerous. Members of AAEM and ACEP are first-hand witnesses to the human toll that COVID-19 is taking on our communities. AAEM and ACEP strongly advise against using any statements of Drs. Erickson and Massihi as a basis for policy and decision making.”I would also advise against members of the media offering tacit support for debunked theories. Sure, you can say you’re just putting another opinion out there. But we are long past the point of opinions with COVID-19. Haven’t theories like this cost us enough already? Let’s stick to the facts, please.Fox 10 (KSAZ) declined to comment. For what it’s worth, Fox News personality Tucker Carlson played a clip of Erickson on Monday, April 27, and Laura Ingraham had the doctors as guests on her show Monday night as well.But Carlson and Ingraham are the hosts of opinion shows, where they bray their support for President Donald Trump often. Which they are well within their rights to do.Lake is a news anchor. Twitter isn’t a news broadcast, and Lake is of course entitled to her opinions. But anchors shouldn’t promote theories that are&nbsp;widely debunked. Like everything else in the world, the doctors’ comments have political implications; some people are itching to reopen the economy, even as social distancing seems to have helped slow the spread of the pandemic. after uttering the F-word and disparaging Phoenix New Times during a Facebook Live event that began too early. She and co-anchor John Hook were apparently talking about how Fox 10 management told Lake to remove a reference to her Parler account from her station-branded Twitter account. (Parler is a social media network founded as a “free-speech alternative” to Twitter that has become a hotbed for right-wing thought and posts, ranging from things you might find on Twitter to more fringe opinions.)As the medical groups suggest in their joint statement, social media is a cesspool of misinformation about COVID-19.It is the media's job to sort through it and to report facts, to help the public know what’s going on during a deadly pandemic. Sending your fans and your followers to debunked theories doesn’t qualify.Reach Goodykoontz at . Facebook: . Twitter: .. What are you waiting for?View Comments

Arizona RepublicView CommentsWhat is Kari Lake thinking?Lake, a news anchor for Phoenix TV station Fox 10, took to Twitter to spotlight a recent viral video in which two California doctors promote lifting the shelter-in-place order in the state — doctors whose claims have been roundly criticized by health care professionals. that are “inconsistent with current science and epidemiology regarding COVID-19.”Citing a violation of its terms of service,&nbsp;YouTube removed video of the briefing by Drs. Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi. In the video, Erickson and Massihi&nbsp;used results of...

public

Arizona Republic and @azcentral media critic for a living - how meta - bring up four kids for fun. Or maybe vice versa.

Bill Goodykoontz

Award-winning local news from Arizona and metro Phoenix | The Arizona Republic in the streets 🗞️,  @azcentral  in the tweets (and online) | Instagram: azcentral

Fox 10 anchor Kari Lake doubles down on debunked coronavirus video on Twitter

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS