Fox News just retracted its publication of an article targeting former President Donald Trump.
Why? Because it is fake news.
The article has since been taken down. And so, one can no longer view it. But, reporter Dan Diamond has posted to his Twitter account a screenshot capturing the article's title, subtitle, and first three paragraphs.
The title of the article is Former Trump Cabinet member tells him to "kiss" his "butt." This is followed by the subtitle, which reads, "Trump's former HHS secretary bashes ex-president for his 'narcissism.'"
The article begins, "EXCLUSIVE: Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price told Fox News Digital there’s 'no way' he will support former President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid."
The article then proceeds to quote Price:
When asked whether he will endorse Trump, Price said, “After he fired me? No way.” “The only thing that guy has more of than fake tan is narcissism,” Price said in an emailed statement to Fox New Digital. “He can kiss my big medical butt.”
On its face, Fox's article appears plausible - at least it is plausible that Price might say such things considering that he is a disgruntled former employee of Trump.
Price was the Trump administration's Health and Human Services Secretary until Trump fired him in September 2017. And, this firing followed a report from Diamond via Politico.
The report read:
In a sharp departure from his predecessors, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price last week took private jets on five separate flights for official business, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars more than commercial travel.
Price was fired within two weeks of this report.
The major problem with Fox's article - which forced Fox to retract it - is that, contrary to what the article said, Price was not its source.
Diamond reports:
A source close to Price said he: (1) never heard from Fox News on this matter (2) did not write an email to Fox News on this matter (3) this is not Price's quote.
Now, when one tries to access the article via Fox's website, one is taken to a webpage titled "Correction." The mostly-empty page reads, "Editor's note: This article inaccurately attributed a quote to former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and has been retracted."
At the time of this writing, former President Trump has not commented upon this situation. But, one could bet that he would put "Fox News" and "fake news" in the same sentence - it wouldn't be the first time.
