Never let it be said that Fox News is innocent when it comes to the spread of false information.
Case in point: The U.S. Navy had something to say this week after Fox contributor Katie Pavlich claimed a team of SEALs were unable to contravene a prototype of President Trump’s border wall.
She said specifically during a panel discussion on Fox’s “Outnumbered,” “Special Forces operatives and members of our Navy SEAL community were asked to try and breach the wall prototypes and they could not do it.”
.@KatiePavlich: “Special Forces operatives and members of our Navy SEAL community were asked to try and breach the wall prototypes and they could not do it.” #Outnumbered pic.twitter.com/Fvq1ozEESH— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 28, 2018
Well, this is not entirely true. For starters, the SEALs have not been involved in any testing of any wall prototype, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported after her appearance, citing a U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command spokesman.
To be fair, though, her overall remarks aren’t completely wrong. They just require more context and nuance.
The Union-Tribune explains:
In January, the Associated Press reported on the results of a three-week test by U.S. military forces and CBP special units. During those three weeks, specially trained units attempted to breach the prototypes using only “jackhammers, saws, torches and other tools and climbing devices.” The prototypes stand at 30 feet tall and are made from a range of materials including concrete and steel. During the tests, the AP reported, “highly trained testers scaled 16 to 20 feet unassisted but needed help after that” and that testers “expressed safety concerns about getting down from 30 feet.”
A source told the AP, “Only once did a tester manage to land a hook on top of the wall without help.”
So, Pavlich is not wrong to say U.S. military and special units have tested wall prototypes. It’s just that she’s wrong to claim the SEALs were involved.
If it’s any consolation, it’s worth noting that Pavlich’s incorrect claim was made during a larger discussion on a commentary program. Bogus info is bogus info any way you look at it, but insofar as the topic of newsrooms spreading false stories is concerned, this isn’t quite the same as, say, a Washington Post reporter claiming falsely that the State Department’s entire senior administrative team had resigned en masse in protest of the president or a Newsweek investigative journalist circulating the theory that Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., was taken down by Russian trolls.
That is, we hold pundits to a slightly lower standard than hard news reporters.
