Fox News announced on Wednesday that it had taken down a caption, or chyron, displayed during Tuesday’s broadcast that labeled Joe Biden a “wannabe dictator”, Your Content has learned.
The network acknowledged the incident and stated that it had “addressed” the situation, without providing further details.
The contentious chyron appeared during a live airing of Donald Trump’s speech following his court appearance in Miami on federal criminal charges.
Fox News was the only major cable news channel to broadcast the speech live from New Jersey, while CNN and MSNBC chose not to air it.
As the speech neared its conclusion, viewers saw a split screen featuring a separate speech from President Biden at the White House.
Beneath 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’s program began at 9pm.
In response to the incident, Fox News issued a statement to the Washington Post, stating that the on-screen caption referring to Joe Biden as a “wannabe dictator” had been “addressed.”
A spokesperson confirmed that the chyron was promptly removed but did not disclose further specifics.
In April, Fox News reached a significant settlement of $787.5 million in a high-profile defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems, a voting equipment company.
The lawsuit revolved around allegations that Fox News knowingly broadcast false and unfounded claims that Dominion was involved in a plot to “steal” the 2020 election from Joe Biden, the declared winner.
The trial in Wilmington, Delaware, was expected to be a consequential legal battle, pitting the right-wing network against the principles of responsible media reporting.
Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old CEO of Fox, was summoned to testify, alongside top Fox News personalities such as Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, and Maria Bartiromo.
Dominion presented a trove of internal communications from Fox that revealed how the network’s hosts were aware that the claims about Dominion were baseless.
These revelations provided a remarkable glimpse into the dynamics behind broadcasting unsubstantiated allegations of widespread voter fraud denying Trump’s victory in the election, according The Guardian.
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