October 01, 2004
Fox News: Hacked, or just Hacks?
filed under: Stuff to laugh atIf I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it.
I held my nose and went to the Fox News website today, to see how they were covering the debates. I was on the phone with Lisa, and saw that Fox was talking about the DNC's Faces of Frustration video, so I clicked on the link and started reading her the article.
"The Headline is 'The Metrosexual and the Cowboy,'" I say.
Huh, I think, that's odd, what does metrosexual have to do with anything?
"'Rallying supporters in Tampa Friday, Kerry played up his performance in Thursday night's debate, in which many observers agreed the Massachusetts senator had outperformed the President,'" I read, noting that Fox was admitting the pro-Kerry consensus.
I continue: "'Didn't my nails and cuticles look great! What a great debate!' Kerry said Friday."
We both pause, dumbfounded.
"Wait a minute... What?!" says Lisa.
I keep reading, coming to this quote: "'Women should like me. I do manicures!' said Kerry."
"What the hell are you reading me?" says Lisa.
I keep going: "'I'm metrosexual, he's a cowboy,' the Democratic candidate said of himself and his opponent."
We're both goggling. "Kerry said this?! says Lisa.
Turns out, no. Kerry didn't say it. Josh Marshall is all over it, as are the folks at DKos. [UPDATE: And now, Kos himself.]
Fox has since pulled this page. No explanation has been forthcoming. Either they were hacked, or someone wrote a joke piece that got accidentally posted.
Anyway, here's a sample (click on the picture to see the whole page as a .gif, or click the "continue reading" link below):
UPDATE: Josh Marshall has not only the answers to the above mysteries, but the questions the press should be asking about this.
Turns out the fake Kerry quotes were written by Fox's lead Kerry Campaign reporter, Carl Cameron. They were written as a joke, whether just for his own amusement or for distribution to friends at the network is not clear. Then somehow they got posted - again, it's not clear if he did it by accident or somebody just grabbed the file and posted it, thinking it was real.
Either way, as Josh Marshall points out, it makes it clear that Fox has a guy covering Kerry who thinks it's a laff riot to write down fake quotes of Kerry claiming to be a metrosexual. To paraphrase Marshall, imagine the outcry from the right if the lead CNN reporter from the Bush campaign accidentally posted a story with Bush quoted as saying "Of course I lost the debate! He's a Yale cum laude and I'm a shaved chimpanzee!"
Something tells me that guy would no longer be covering the Bush campaign, and that CNN would feel like it had a lot of 'splainin' to do. Fox, in their wisdom, has announced that they are "moving on" and have said all they're going to say on the matter.
