NBC News issued a defense of one of their reporters and accused Fox News’s Tucker Carlson of targeting her, a day after he devoted a segment to her reporting.
Brandy Zadrozny, an investigative reporter who often covers the fringes of the internet for the outlet, was the subject of a segment on Carlson’s show Wednesday night. The Fox News host claimed, “Her job is personally seeking out and identifying information about anonymous Trump supporters online.”
A day later, NBC News and a number of her colleagues came to her defense. The outlet issued a statement saying the segment was “dangerously and dishonestly” targeting her and that Carlson “has chosen to smear Brandy.”
“In so doing they have shamefully encouraged harassment and worse. Fortunately, any effort to intimidate Brandy is doomed to failure. NBC News couldn’t be prouder of Brandy, and we will continue to vigorously support her work,” the statement read.
The outlet also defended her work as a journalist.
Statement from NBC News: pic.twitter.com/yd4aED3ZMC
— NBC News PR (@NBCNewsPR) October 22, 2020
“She is relentlessly well-researched and sophisticated in her understanding of disinformation and conspiracy theories on the Internet and within some social media communities,” NBC News added. “She’s written definitive stories on extremism, QAnon, the profiteers behind rising anti-vaccination and COVID denial movements — among many other topics. Her work is widely respected and has contributed greatly to the public’s awareness and understanding of the dangers of this alt-universe that breads online but has very tangible real-world impacts.”
Carlson’s segment included Darren Beattie, from Revolver News, who accused Zadrozny of “doing everything she can to unearth anonymous Trump supporters basically so she can ruin their lives.”
Beattie added that she and other journalists are trying to “crush the rebellion of the American people against their corrupt ruling class associated with the victory of Donald Trump.”
