People slam Fox News for checking politics of Capital Gazette

Heather Gardner
·Video Producer, Yahoo Entertainment

The deadly shooting at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., that claimed the lives of five journalists was quickly politicized by many members of the media — which is nothing new.

Now, Fox News is facing a backlash after its anchor Trace Gallagher suggested that the Capital Gazette’s political affiliation could have made it a target for the attack, though he quickly dismissed the idea, saying the paper “doesn’t appear very ideological.”

The comment came before Maryland authorities confirmed the identity of the alleged shooter. Jarrod Ramos had a long-running feud with the paper stemming from an article it published about a criminal harassment charge against him.

Still, many were appalled that Fox News would check the paper’s political leanings in order to uncover a possible reason for the attack.

To be fair, the American discourse in the days leading up to the shooting was less than civil between the right and left. While at a rally in West Columbia, S.C., this week, Trump referred to the “opposing” media as “the enemy of the people.”

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters also made headlines for promoting the harassment of Trump administration officials. She told a crowd to “push back” against White House employees.

Some, however, did not think the discourse justified Fox News looking into the newspaper’s political leanings as a possible reason for the attack.

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