After an hour of marketing his own aggressive brand of no-holds-barred progressivism, MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan decided to conclude his eponymous Sunday evening show with a snide and staged exchange with fellow radical Ayman Mohyeldin, comparing Fox News to state-run Middle Eastern propaganda networks.
Hasan began by asking Mohyeldin, “Do we have midterm elections coming up?” He then played a series of clips from Fox News from the past week warning of the large migrant caravan making its way to the U.S. southern border.
After the montage, Hasan snarkily proclaimed: “Yes, if it's a midterm year, it has to be a migrant caravan year,” insinuating Fox would not have covered the story if the midterm elections weren’t fast approaching.
Hasan then made a lame attempt at a fact check, “And by the way, Ayman, that caravan has already been disbanded by Mexican authorities, but don't let facts get in the way of a good Fox scare story.”
The one problem with this was that the Reuters article Hasan plastered all over the screen was published on June 11th, and every clip he played in the montage was from before the caravan was allegedly disbanded, except for Dan Bongino’s Unfiltered, which aired a mere three hours after the story broke.
But Hasan was just warming up, and really hit his stride with this doozy of a comparison:
And, Ayman, I was talking about Fox propaganda earlier on the show which is one of the reasons I refuse to call it Fox News, it’s not news. And I have to ask you, in all your years of reporting from around the world, Ayman, in places like General Sisi’s Egypt, how different is the way Fox behaves from the propaganda channels that you've seen in those authoritarian countries, those Middle East dictatorships?
Mohyeldin was more than happy to take the bait:
I have seen a lot of state-controlled media in my lifetime. Egypt, in the Middle East, in Turkey, elsewhere. I've always noticed that — you know, they have a few common characteristics. On one hand, they follow closely the script of those in power, the government, the ruling elite — uh, the ruling class, and two, they ignore the realities of the society that they are reporting on for fear of undermining that very ruling class, and if you ask me, Fox meets those metrics, and perhaps more accurately, instead of calling it — um, you know, state-controlled media, it's better to call it a party propaganda broadcaster.
There’s no doubt that Fox News is right-leaning, but to pretend that the Republican Party is a monolithic ruling class — within the D.C. Beltway or without — is patent nonsense. And on the topic of state-run media, didn’t both Hasan and Mohyeldin previously work for the Qatari-funded Al-Jazeera?
Mohyeldin concluded by stating, “This is not an independent news organization looking for the truth. It is a propaganda broadcaster doing the bidding of Republican elites.”
If so, what would that make MSNBC? Or for that matter, Hasan’s personal efforts to cover for the Biden administration?
Agree with the liberal media and you're searching for the truth; disagree with them and you're a dictatorial propaganda network.
This insane comparison was made possible by US Bank and Volkswagen. Their contact information is linked.
Click “Expand” to see the relevant transcript.
MSNBC’s The Mehdi Hasan Show
06/12/22
8:57:36 PM ETMEHDI HASAN: Ayman, question, do we have midterm elections coming up?
AYMAN MOHYELDIN: Yeah of course Mehdi, we do. Why do you ask?
HASAN: I knew it! I forgot for a moment, but then Fox was kind enough to remind me that Congressional midterms are around the corner. Take a listen.
[Cuts to clips]
BRIAN KILMEADE [On FNC's Fox and Friends, 06/06/22]: Over 10,000 illegal immigrants set to storm our borders —
STUART VARNEY [On Fox Business’ Varney and Company, 06/09/22]: We’ve got this huge caravan coming right at the southern border. Don't know when it's gonna get here, but there's thousands in it.
ELIZABETH MACDONALD [On Fox Business’ The Evening Edit, 06/10/22]: This as the largest ever caravan of illegals bears down on the border.
BILL HEMMER [On FNC’s America’s Newsroom, 06/12/22]: 1,000 strong migrant caravan heading through — uh, Mexico toward the U.S. Border.
TUCKER CARLSON [On FNC’s Tucker Carlson Tonight, 06/06/22]: A caravan of at least 15,000 people has formed. It is headed here, it’s getting bigger every day.
DAN BONGINO [On FNC’s Unfiltered with Dan Bongino, 06/11/22]: What about the 10,000-person caravan of migrants approaching our southern border?
SEAN HANNITY [On FNC’s Hannity, 06/07/22]: Another massive migrant caravan, as a matter of fact, the largest to date, marching to the U.S. Border, as Biden's open borders agenda is now a full-blown threat to U.S. national security.
[Cuts back to live]
HASAN: Yes, if it's a midterm year, it has to be a migrant caravan year. And by the way, Ayman, that caravan has already been disbanded by Mexican authorities, but don't let facts get in the way of a good Fox scare story. And, Ayman, I was talking about Fox propaganda earlier on the show which is one of the reasons I refuse to call it Fox News, it’s not news. And I have to ask you, in all your years of reporting from around the world, Ayman, in places like General Sisi’s Egypt, how different is the way Fox behaves from the propaganda channels that you've seen in those authoritarian countries, those Middle East dictatorships?
MOHYELDIN: I mean, listen, you — you raise a very interesting question. I have seen a lot of state-controlled media in my lifetime. Egypt, in the Middle East, in Turkey, elsewhere. I've always noticed that — you know, they have a few common characteristics. On one hand, they follow closely the script of those in power, the government, the ruling elite — uh, the ruling class, and two, they ignore the realities of the society that they are reporting on for fear of undermining that very ruling class, and if you ask me, Fox meets those metrics, and perhaps more accurately, instead of calling it — um, you know, state-controlled media, it's better to call it a party propaganda broadcaster.
Because all you gotta do is look at the intersection of Fox and the Republican Party, whether it's — you know, Sean Hannity campaigning at a Trump rally, literally. Fox hosts giving the White House advice on policy — uh, text messages like we saw the ones that were sent to Mark Meadows and Kayleigh McEnany on January the 6th. This is not an independent news organization looking for the truth. It is a propaganda broadcaster doing the bidding of Republican elites.
HASAN: Well said, my friend. Well said.
