Fox News said on Wednesday that it had taken down an on-screen banner, or chyron, that was displayed on Tuesday labeling Joe Biden a “wannabe dictator”, and noted the company had “addressed” the situation, but without any further explanation.
On Tuesday night, hours after Donald Trump was in court in Miami on federal criminal charges, the rightwing TV channel ran a caption characterizing Biden baldly as a “wannabe dictator” who attempted to have “his political rival arrested”.
The chyron appeared during a live broadcast of Trump’s post-arraignment speech, as the network was the only major cable news channel to carry the Tuesday evening speech in New Jersey live, with rivals CNN and MSNBC choosing not to air the address.
Towards the end of the speech, viewers were presented with a split screen carrying a separate speech from Biden at the White House. Below the image, the news chyron read: “Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested.”
The text remained on screen until Sean Hannity came to air at 9pm.
On Wednesday, in a statement to the Washington Post, Fox News said the on-screen caption displayed last night that refered to Joe Biden as a “wannabe dictator” was “addressed”.
A spokesperson said: “The chyron was taken down immediately and was addressed,” without providing specifics.
In April, Fox reached a historic $787.5m settlement with the election equipment company Dominion Voting Systems in a closely watched defamation lawsuit, ending a dispute over whether the TV network and its parent company knowingly broadcast false and outlandish allegations that Dominion was involved in a plot to “steal” the 2020 election from Donald Trump.
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The trial in Wilmington, Delaware, had been expected to be a blockbuster event, pitching the rightwing network up against media responsibility to be truthful to viewers. Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old chief executive of Fox, had been called to testify in the case, along with then top Fox talent including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro and Maria Bartiromo – some of its most rightwing show hosts.
Dominion had unearthed a stunning trove of internal communications from Fox laying bare how presenters knew the claims about Dominion were lies. The extensive messages offered a remarkable insight into how some of the most powerful hosts in the US did not buy the claims they were broadcasting that Trump had won the election but been denied it by widespread voter fraud.