The Fox News Spin Zone

In the aftermath of August’s mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, right-wing politicians placed the blame not on guns, but on mental illness and video games. Yet research by the American Psychiatric Association refutes such claims, and video games have never been tied to violent crime in any scientific study. A CJR review found that, between August 4 and August 10, Fox News repeatedly mentioned mental illness and video games, indicating 73 percent of the time that they’re connected to mass shootings. We compared Fox’s treatment to that of its competitors.

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Andrew McCormick, Akintunde Ahmad, and Kevin Zweerink are CJR contributors. McCormick is an independent journalist and former CJR Delacorte Fellow whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, the South China Morning Post, and more. Ahmad is a current CJR Delacorte Fellow. Zweerink is a graphic designer who works with journalists and publications under the moniker Currently Studio.