Fox News says it’s ‘addressed’ the issue after caption calls Biden a ‘wannabe dictator’

After a caption on Fox News called US president Joe Biden a “wannabe dictator” on Tuesday, the news channel said it has “addressed” the issue – but did not explain how.

The caption, or chyron, was displayed during a live broadcast of former US president Donald Trump’s speech after his arraignment. Trump had pleaded not guilty to 37 charges related to alleged mishandling of classified documents.

According to the Guardian, Fox News was the “only major cable news channel” to broadcast the speech live after CNN and MSNBC chose “not to air the address”. 

At the end of Trump’s speech, a split screen showed Biden speaking at the White House while the text below said “Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested”.

The chyron was reportedly on screen during the broadcast for 27 seconds. The New York Times said the phrasing was “unusually strong even for a network that generally had a friendly relationship with the Trump White House and has been heavily critical of the Biden administration”.

A Fox News spokesperson later told the Washington Post: “The chyron was taken down immediately and was addressed.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked for a comment on the incident during her daily press briefing on Wednesday. She said, “So, look, there are probably about 787 million things that I can say about this –  that was wrong about what we saw last night, but I don’t think I’m going to get into it.”

The journalist said, “There’s no comment the White House has on it.” Jean-Pierre laughed and said, “I think I just commented.”

In April, Fox News’s firebrand primetime anchor Tucker Carlson was ousted from the channel in a most dramatic exit. Carlson bears much resemblance to our usual suspects primetime news in India – but one anchor in particular stands out. Wondering who it is? Watch this episode of Newsance to find out.