SHARE THIS ACTION ALERT
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
On March 17, 2019, just two days after the horrific mass shooting in New Zealand, the show “Fox & Friends Weekend” ran a fear-mongering segment about Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke’s position on assault weapons.
The segment featured a video clip of O’Rourke explaining he wanted to prohibit the sale of semiautomatic assault rifles like the AR-15, but was fine with allowing gun owners to keep whatever rifles they currently have. O’Rourke referenced recent mass shootings in which the killers used AR-15s and made it clear these weapons were designed to kill human beings quickly and efficiently.
In response, Fox & Friends Weekend host Pete Hegseth trotted out an NRA canard about gun violence prevention advocates not understanding the difference between semiautomatic firearms and fully-automatic machine guns. Then Hegseth advised viewers to “go out and get your second AR-15 today.” “Maybe [Beto’s position on assault weapons is] a good reason to do so,” he added, boasting that stocks of gun companies “probably will go up after things like this.”
Please file a complaint with the FCC by taking the following actions:
1) Visit the following link and click “TV” under “File a Complaint”:
https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us
2) At the TV Complaint form, enter an email, the subject “Complaint Against Fox News,” and the following message (personalized to your liking) under the “Description” heading:
I would like to file a complaint about the March 17, 2019 edition of “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Fox News. During the program, which aired just two days after the horrific mass shooting in New Zealand, a segment featured presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke’s proposal to prohibit the sale of new assault weapons (semiautomatic rifles like the AR-15). The purpose of the segment was to create fear in Fox viewers who own firearms. Host Pete Hegseth advised them to “go out and get your second AR-15 today.” “Maybe [Beto’s position on assault weapons is] a good reason to do so,” he added, boasting that stocks of gun companies “probably will go up after things like this.” This type of commentary—encouraging paranoia among viewers and then urging them to buy military-style rifles to counter the actions of government—is flat-out dangerous and intolerable. We have a mass shooting virtually every day in this country. We should not have to tolerate programming that encourages more by telling anti-government gun owners to stockpile weapons. Fox is creating a totally unnecessary public safety risk when Americans are already being exposed to way too much gun violence. Please investigate this matter immediately and punish Fox News for its dangerous actions.
3) Under the “TV Issues” pull-down, select “Indecency,” then hit the blue Submit button. “Fox & Friends Weekend” airs from 6AM-10AM EST.
Once you have filed a complaint with the FCC, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!