CNN\u2019s Jim Acosta said Fox News has intensified its coverage of \u201ccockamamie made-up nonsense\u201d since the 2020 election in an effort to win back viewers, create outrage and boost ratings.<\/p>\n
In a conversation on Mediaite\u2019s \u201cThe Interview\u201d posted this week, the CNN anchor spoke about the aftermath of Fox News\u2019 election night decision to call Arizona for Joe Biden. The call, which turned out to be accurate, incurred the wrath of then-President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Two executives involved in that decision were out at Fox News soon afterward.\u00a0Nonetheless, the network saw a dip in ratings after the election, and Trump repeatedly directed his supporters toward far-right alternatives OAN and Newsmax.<\/p>\n
Acosta said the network had a moment of opportunity there to \u201ccome back to the real world\u201d but instead it became \u201cmore Fox-like and more Trumpian.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat they\u2019ve decided to do since then is double down on being what I call the bullshit factory,\u201d Acosta said. \u201cThey churn out segments that gin up outrage that they know is going to piss off their viewers and so on. Even if it\u2019s cockamamie made-up nonsense. And they do it for the simple reason of attracting viewers, and ginning up the ratings.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Acosta\u2019s view, it\u2019s necessary to cover the network\u2019s transgressions in order to hold its employees and guests accountable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve thought long and hard about it, and my attitude is we have to talk about it, we have to cover it,\u201d he said. \u201cDo we need to do it every hour of every day? No, we don\u2019t. But if Trump or his lackeys go on Fox and they spew this nonsense about the election and they\u2019re not fact-checked in real time, then they\u2019re operating as propagandists. And they\u2019re doing a bad thing for this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Acosta often reports on Fox News during his weekend anchor slot and recently accused it of being \u201cobsessed with cancel culture\u201d and generating \u201cfaux outrage\u201d while silencing anyone who won\u2019t propagate Trump\u2019s lies about the 2020 election.<\/p>\n
Listen to Mediaite\u2019s\u00a0full interview with Acosta here.<\/p>\n