AAJA Seeks Apology From Fox News for Irresponsible Comments About Islam

by Paul Cheung
Asian American Journalist
August 27, 2014

https://www.legal-project.org/4310/aaja-seeks-apology-from-fox-news-for

Video Source: MediaMatters

The killing of photojournalist James Foley was disturbing, appalling, monstrous. We understand the visceral reaction to the horror.

What we at the Asian American Journalists Association don't understand is how the barbaric act of a terrorist group could be used to condemn and to smear an entire faith.

Yet that's precisely what Fox News host Andrea Tantaros did when she suggested in an "Outnumbered" segment that aired Aug. 20 that all Muslims are like ISIS, the group purportedly behind the execution of Foley. "They've been doing this for hundreds and hundreds of years if you study the history of Islam," she said.

More alarmingly, Tantaros goes so far as to advocate violence.

"You can't solve it with a dialogue. You can't solve it with a summit," she said. "You solve it with a bullet to the head. It's the only thing these people understand."

AAJA calls for Tantaros and Fox News to apologize for the irresponsible, inflammatory statements. We also call on Fox News to discourage its journalists from making blanket comments that serve to perpetuate hate and Islamophobia.

Muslims and Islam are not interchangeable terms with terrorists or ISIS. We in the media know better and must be vigilant in our choice of words.

Fox News representatives did not respond to multiple AAJA inquiries about Tantaros' statements.

Sincerely
AAJA MediaWatch Committee
Paul Cheung, AAJA National President

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