Former Fox News executive Preston Padden says that the news network is “poison” for America.
Padden, who worked closely with owner Rupert Murdoch for seven years, alleges that Fox encouraged mask skepticism during the COVID-19 pandemic, which, subsequently, resulted in “the unnecessary deaths of many Americans,” he wrote in the Daily Beast.
Padden, who served as president of network distribution, slammed Fox News’ critique of speedy COVID-19 vaccine development. Anchor Tucker Carlson said on air that the news about vaccine efficacy “feels false” because it’s “too slick.”
He added that Fox News stood behind former President Donald Trump’s “wild and false claims” about election fraud.
Padden also claims that even Murdoch does not fully believe the channel’s news coverage and holds different beliefs about masks and vaccines. “I don’t believe that most of the falsehoods on Fox News reflect Rupert Murdoch’s own views,” he wrote. “I believe that he thought that it was important to protect his own health by wearing a mask during the pandemic and he encouraged me to do the same. I believe that he thought that it was important to protect his own health by getting vaccinated at the earliest opportunity and he encouraged me to do the same. And I believe that he thinks that former President Trump is an egomaniac who lost the election by turning off voters, especially suburban women, with his behavior.”
Padden stated that “no reasonable person would believe” Fox News. “Millions of Americans believe these falsehoods because they have been drilled into their minds, night after night, by Fox News,” he said.
