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Tell Fox & Friends: Extremists Do Not Count as Media Experts
  1. Signatures
    1,444 out of 1,500
    Petitioning
    1. Fox News (+ 2 others)
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      • Fox News
      • Fox & Friends
      • Reporter (Juliet Huddy)
  2. Created By
    Change.org
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

Fox News has a reputation for giving controversial voices the opportunity to weigh in on current events. But the network's morning show, Fox & Friends, has recently become a hotbed of seemingly extremist voices, giving national platforms to activists who advocate rather dangerous and violent positions.

The latest is a man named Bob Enyart, an activist from Colorado. Appearing in an August 30 segment on the show to discuss teenage pregnancy, Enyart's past is dotted with outlandish behavior and incidents. In 1999, Enyart was arrested for child abuse, after beating his stepson with a belt. Enyart has also excused the murdering of doctors who provide abortion services, and previously read the obituaries of people who died from AIDS, to the tune of "Another One Bites the Dust."

Is Enyart what passes for an expert on Fox & Friends?

Other controversial guests have appeared on the show recently as well, including religious singer Bradlee Dean -- who suggested that countries that kill gay people are morally superior to the United States -- and Victoria Jackson, who suggested that Obama "bears traits that resemble the anti-Christ."

These aren't thought leaders, media experts, or even controversial voices. Rather, these folks all hold positions that foster a dangerous current of extremism that shouldn't be rewarded with a national platform.

Tell Fox & Friends that good journalism demands better.

Recent Signatures

Extremists do not count as media experts

Dear Fox & Friends,

Recently, Fox & Friends hosted a segment where a man named Bob Enyart was allowed the role of a media expert to comment on a segment discussing teenage pregnancy. But Enyart's past is checkered with child abuse charges, as well as commentary that excuses people who murder reproductive health doctors, and a history of publicly reading the obituaries of people who die from AIDS while playing the song "Another One Bites the Dust" in the background.

I know that Fox News appreciates controversial and newsworthy guests. But there's a fine line between bringing on someone who is controversial, and bringing on someone who maintains rather extremist opinions.

Recent examples of Fox & Friends giving platforms to other inappropriate voices include a segment with Bradlee Dean, a religious singer from Minnesota who has argued that killing gays and lesbians is moral, and activist Victoria Jackson, who said that President Obama "bears traits that resemble the anti-Christ."

These voices aren't what I expect from a major television network. Good journalism demands better. There's a reason news channels don't bring on the Westboro Baptist Church to talk about the U.S. military, or the Ku Klux Klan to talk about race relations. That's because these groups, while having the right to believe very hateful things, don't have the right to be given a megaphone on national television.

Thank you for your time.

[Your name]

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