On Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver took Fox News to task over their coverage of the refugee crisis that has emerged as ISIS continues to expand its power in Iraq and Syria.
Oliver pointed to one particular video Fox News ‘reported' on which reduces the migrant population fleeing the Middle East to one stereotype: terrorists. In the video, a group of “Muslim refugees” are shown on a train chanting “Allahu Akbar” (“God is Great”). Said Fox News' Kristin Fisher,
A new video surfaces online showing why some are worried Europe is opening its doors to potential terrorists. Those are reportedly Muslim refugees on a train in Europe, chanting “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is great.” Now, to be clear, we're not saying that any of those people are terrorists or in any way affiliated with a terror group, but it does highlight just how many of these refugees who are fleeing violence in Iraq and Syria are Muslim.
To which Oliver retorted:
OK, first, you don't get to claim that you're not calling those people terrorists when your lower third says, ‘Terrorists Inbound?' question mark. If you're really not saying they're terrorists, maybe change that to something more accurate, like ‘People Take Train,' or ‘Some Wear Hats, Others Less So.' And second, describing that as a new video that sheds light on the migrant crisis is a little misleading, because in researching this story, we found a version of that same video uploaded onto YouTube back in 2010, well before this migrant crisis even began. And, if you are going to use misleading, old footage to make people frightened of Muslims, why stop there? Just go the whole way and use a clip from True Lies.
Game, set, match, Oliver.
Watch the video below:
