The White House sent a letter to Fox News demanding it walk back its coverage of bribery allegations against President Biden.
The allegations came from a now-indicted former FBI informant, Alexander Smirnov, who has been charged with fabricating the story.
Despite this, Fox News has not retracted or updated its prior reporting promoting the claims.
The letter criticized Fox hosts like Jesse Watters and Sean Hannity for relentlessly promoting the claims on air without proper correction.
It noted Fox’s news website also has unaltered articles from last year advancing Smirnov’s allegations without noting he was charged.
While other news outlets viewed the claims as dubious, Fox News continues to give a platform to related conspiracy theories.
The White House wants editor’s notes and on-air corrections, but Fox News says it will continue reporting on developments and did not directly address the retraction request.
“Despite this, Fox has taken no steps to retract, correct, or update its reporting on this false allegation from 2023,” White House rep Ian Sams said.
“I would cite the number of times Jesse Watters and Sean Hannity promoted this allegation and made false statements about President Biden on primetime television throughout this time period, but the footnote citations would fill multiple pages,” Sams wrote.
“We feel strongly that all Fox News Digital articles on this topic should at a minimum be updated with editor’s notes informing readers that the source of this allegation has been federally indicted for making it up,” Sams wrote. “We also feel strongly that Fox News Channel television personalities like Hannity and Watters, among others, should inform their viewers on air that they have been sharing a discredited allegation from a source who has been federally indicted for making it up.”
“Fox News Media has reported on all key developments since the announcement that Alexander Smirnov was charged with lying to the FBI, featuring the story prominently,” a Fox News spokesperson said. “We will continue to report on developments in all aspects of the ongoing investigations, hearings, and trials.”