Aubree Eliza Weaver
PoliticoSat, 25 Jul 2020 04:31 UTC
© Win McNamee/Getty ImagesThe headquarters of the Sinclair Broadcast Group
The report sparked an immediate outcry on social media, where the video has been largely banned on Facebook and YouTube.
Sinclair Broadcasting on Saturday said it will delay its scheduled airing of a news segment featuring a viral conspiracy theory surrounding Anthony Fauci's role in the Covid-19 pandemic.
America This Week host Eric Bolling was scheduled to air an interview with Judy Mikovits, a medical researcher featured in the "Plandemic" video that claims Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, was responsible for the creation of the coronavirus, Media Matters reported.The report sparked an immediate outcry on social media, where
the video has been largely banned on platforms including Facebook and YouTube. "I recognize that this segment does need to be reworked to provide better context, and as such we are delaying the airing of the episode for one week," Bolling said in a
statement posted to his Twitter feed on Saturday afternoon.
Fauci recently has talked about becoming the target of death threats over his public comments on the coronavirus pandemic, which have often contradicted the policies of President Donald Trump and his administration.
Media Matters reported that Bolling introduced the prerecorded interview by
referring to Mikovits as "an expert in virology" and someone who had previously worked with Fauci. In the interview, Bolling spoke with Mikovits and her attorney, Larry Klayman, about "Plandemic" as well as their plans to sue Fauci.
Bolling also spoke to Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier in response to Mikovits' claims. Saphier noted that it was "highly unlikely" that Fauci was to blame for the pandemic, and then she and Bolling weighed other theories for how the virus spread and escalated.
Prior to making the decision to delay the episode, both Bolling and Sinclair said that while they were allowing the segment to run,
they were in no way endorsing the documentary or its message. Bolling said:
"I have always welcomed all points of on my show and have consistently stood for free speech in my 15 years in media. In this case, admittedly I was caught off guard by some of Dr. Mikovits' claims. At no point did I agree with her. Further, I brought on another doctor to debunk the theories she espoused. I repeat: I do not agree with Dr. Mikovits."
In his announcement that this week's segment would be delayed, Bolling added that he has "immense respect for Dr. Fauci" and views him as "the leading expert on this topic." He also said that he has attempted to have Fauci on his program to discuss Covid-19 and that the invitation still stands. Sinclair said in a statement Saturday:
"After further review, we have decided to delay this episode's airing. We will spend the coming days bringing together other viewpoints and provide additional context. All stations have been notified not to air this and will instead be re-airing last week's episode in its place."
Comment: Hard to believe Bolling didn't do his homework as Dr. Mikovits has been forthcoming with her viewpoints for months. There may be more to this media threat than he is willing to reveal, given CNN is openly forcing censorship while the public puppets, on cue, buttress their mind wall:
CNN has whipped up an army of outraged Twitter liberals after it slammed a network of local news stations for airing an interview with a disgraced scientist who blamed Dr Anthony Fauci for the coronavirus.
Her appearance alone rubbed CNN the wrong way. In an article slamming Sinclair for airing such a "baseless conspiracy theory," CNN hammered Bolling for allowing Mikovits to "continue to make her case" without pushing back enough. CNN even texted both Bolling and Mikovits' fellow guest Larry Klayman, a lawyer who backed up her claims, to ask them about the segment.
Taking a page from the Media Matters playbook, CNN asked Bolling if he had any "second thoughts" about airing the segment. Bolling simply replied "I don't second guess my producers and bookers."
Online, CNN's liberal viewership clamored for a boycott of Sinclair. Some even demanded that anyone spreading such "dangerously false propaganda" be imprisoned.
CNN's gripe with Bolling seemed to stem from the fact that he didn't appropriately ridicule Mikovits. Bolling did call her claim "hefty," and afterwards interviewed Dr Nicole Saphier, a medical contributor for Fox News. Both Bolling and Saphier agreed on air that it was "highly unlikely" that Dr Fauci created the coronavirus, calling the allegation a "conspiracy theory."
Whatever its standing in the information war, CNN is losing the ratings war against Sinclair and its affiliates. Local broadcasters like the 294 owned or operated by Sinclair and its subsidiaries draw in five times as many primetime viewers as cable networks like CNN. Among these local broadcasters, Sinclair is king, reaching 40 percent of American households.
Proponents of the boycott celebrated their victory on Twitter:
Amid a recent upsurge in 'cancel culture,' few campaigns have brought a company to its knees as fast as Saturday's blitz by CNN. For Bolling and his colleagues at Sinclair it's back to the studio to reshoot their offending segment at CNN's behest.
See also:
UPDATE, 28/7/2020:
Change of plans for The Sinclair Broadcast Group as they opt out of airing the entire interview. By acquiescing to threats and demands, SBG has reinforced the message that Covid is indeed a shut case and we should just accept the going narrative to our mental, physical and societal detriment. Sinclair was gagged and CNN's suspect 'viewer response' shows the workings and extent of MSM indoctrination:
The Sinclair Broadcast Group will not air a controversial interview with a Covid-19 'conspiracy' researcher, opting to toss the segment altogether.
CNN and other mainstream outlets lead the charge to denounce the conspiracy-laden segment.
In the now-scrapped interview, Mikovits reportedly told host Eric Bolling that Fauci had helped to manufacture and transport coronavirus samples to a research lab in Wuhan, where the Covid-19 pandemic is thought to have originated - one among several questionable claims to also feature in the 'Plandemic' film, which has been widely censored online.
Though it's unclear what prompted Monday's decision, CNN reported that local TV stations around the US had received complaints from viewers, who requested that they not air the segment.
R.C.