After the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, Fox News went on a four-year undisputed reign as king of the cable news world.
How quickly things change.
Following the 2020 election, a backlash among conservatives has deeply impacted the cable news company’s ratings. It seems as though fans of the network are turning off the television — or changing the channel — over the results.
Mainstream media outlets have called the race for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden while Trump continues to fight in court to prove his claims of widespread voter fraud.
But as for Fox News, the network is seeing a ratings freefall.
The major shift seemed to occur on election night when Fox News officially called the state of Arizona as a Biden victory with only 73 percent of the vote counted. It’s worth noting that as of Monday, votes from the state home to the Grand Canyon were still pouring in. Biden’s lead has shrunk to just 15,000 votes.
Fox News then declared the race for Biden, despite ongoing legal challenges by the Trump campaign.
One of its star anchors, Sandra Smith, was caught in a candid hot mic moment that had critics even more skeptical about the coverage. Smith was still live on-air when she doubled down on the fact that the network had decided that Biden had won.
You can see the on-camera flub below:
Sandra Smith didn't realise she was live on air pic.twitter.com/iB5LdIiMdU
— Dr. Seema Yasmin is on a media literacy mission (@DoctorYasmin) November 9, 2020
And to make matters worse, the network seemed to dig itself into an even deeper hole Monday when Neil Cavuto cut away from a White House press briefing led by Kayleigh McEnany.
The Press Secretary had been addressing claims of voter fraud in in the election when Cavuto cut her off.
“She is charging that the other side is welcoming fraud and welcoming illegal voting,” he said. “Unless she has more details to back that up, I can’t in good countenance continuing showing you this.”
Fox News cuts out of McEnany
Cavuto: "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I just think we have to be very clear: she's charging the other side as welcoming fraud and illegal voting, unless she has more details to back that up, I can't in good countenance continue to show you this." pic.twitter.com/0koLBJasl9
— Lis Power (@LisPower1) November 9, 2020
“Maybe they do have something to back that up,” he went on, “but that’s an explosive charge to make that the other side is effectively rigging and cheating.”
For better or for worse, the network has shown clear indications of wanting to move on from the formerly close bond it had with Trump and some of his most devout supporters. And it’s no big secret.
Leading up to the election, the president has expressed frustration with the network and what he claims has been unfair coverage.
He’s been calling for a boycott for quite some time now.
So, will you boycott Fox News?
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