The Bible tells us that “a hypocrite is someone who puts on a mask and pretends to be something else.” Take, for example, Fox News—a network quick to criticize other media outlets without ever looking in the mirror. We could discuss how Fox promoted the 2020 election lie—The Big Lie—on air, while behind the scenes, few at the network believed it. Alternatively, we could revisit the $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, as well as the payouts and non-disclosure agreements used to conceal the egregious behavior of several high-profile male personalities toward women.
Those stories are well-known. But has Fox News learned from its mistakes? Don’t hold your breath.
There’s a lesser-known story—one that began three years ago and remains highly relevant—that fits squarely under the headline: hypocrisy.
In recent months, Fox News and its contributors have vocally condemned a pre-election segment of 60 Minutes featuring Vice President Kamala Harris. Their outrage centered on CBS’s decision to edit Harris’s response to a question for clarity. Donald Trump deemed the segment so offensive that he is now suing CBS News and 60 Minutes for $20 billion, alleging election interference. The lawsuit also casts a shadow over CBS’s parent company, Paramount, which is seeking approval from the Trump administration for a multi-billion-dollar merger.
But this commentary isn’t about corporate mergers or Trump’s lawsuit — it’s about Fox News and its ethics.
CBS News defended its edit as a standard journalistic practice, clarifying a response without altering its meaning. After mounting pressure, CBS released full transcripts of the unaired footage. Most journalism ethics experts agree that CBS acted responsibly. Nevertheless, Trump is moving forward with the lawsuit, and reports suggest settlement talks are ongoing.
Meanwhile, Fox News has reveled in the criticism. Contributor Joe Concha called CBS’s actions “journalistic malfeasance.” Jesse Watters labeled the segment a “deceptively dirty edit” and demanded that someone be fired. Sean Hannity accused CBS of acting as “an extension of the Harris campaign.”
A sharper blade couldn’t slice through the hypocrisy more cleanly.
That hypocrisy was recently laid bare in an opinion piece by Bobby Block, Executive Director of the First Amendment Foundation, and Seth Stern, Advocacy Director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Published in The Palm Beach Post, The News-Press, and The Naples Daily News, their argument cuts to the core of Fox’s ethical contradictions.
Tampa-based independent journalist Tim Burke is facing federal charges for revealing unaired antisemitic remarks made by Kanye West (now Ye) during a 2022 interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News. Burke obtained and published the entire interview online, exposing Ye’s grotesque antisemitic statements—statements that Fox had intentionally edited out.
Block and Stern argue that Burke acted in the public interest by exposing both hate speech and media censorship. Rather than being recognized for responsible journalism, Burke was indicted by the Department of Justice, first under the Biden administration, and now again under Trump’s DOJ. The charges, which include hacking and wiretapping, could carry a sentence of life in prison.
The column rightly questions how leaders who claim to oppose antisemitism — including Trump and his allies — can remain silent or, worse, be complicit in the prosecution of someone who exposed it. Block and Stern call on the government to drop the charges against Burke, arguing that defending the First Amendment and fighting antisemitism requires moral consistency, not political convenience.
Let’s be clear about the hypocrisy: Tucker Carlson interviewed Kanye West. During that taping, West made grotesque antisemitic comments —clearly newsworthy statements, offering insight into the worldview of a significant cultural figure. But instead of airing them, Carlson and Fox left them on the cutting room floor. Were they trying to sanitize West’s image? That’s not journalism — that’s manipulation. That’s what real “journalistic malfeasance” looks like.
That interview took place three years ago. When Burke eventually released the outtakes, Fox mounted a weak defense, relying on free speech arguments without ever addressing why they withheld such significant content. The deeper irony is this: Ye entered that interview fully aware he was speaking to a reporter, on camera, for a national television broadcast. He wasn’t wearing a mask, but Fox News put a biblical mask on him anyway.
Fox News should be ashamed of its ethical hypocrisy. The Department of Justice should recognize that if it is genuinely committed to combating antisemitism, it ought to support journalists like Tim Burke instead of prosecuting them.
Disclosure: The author of this commentary worked for the parent company of Fox News in the local television station division.
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