Fox & Friends used an MSNBC report to promote a border wall. MSNBC’s correspondent called them out for getting it wrong.

MSNBC's Jacob Soboroff: “CBP says in our full story, that FOX didn't play, 'we don't have any intentions of fencing off the entire SW border. It's not necessary.'”

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

Fox & Friends selectively aired parts of an MSNBC report about prototypes for the border wall President Donald Trump wants to construct along the U.S.-Mexico border, claiming that the report “accidentally showed why a wall is needed” because it showed asylum-seekers scaling a part of a fence that already exists on the border. Later, future Fox prime-time host Laura Ingraham commented that “MSNBC actually kind of stumbled into reporting on the border.”

In a series of tweets, MSNBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff ripped the segment, noting that the Fox hosts “got it so very wrong” and told “many lies” about the MSNBC package. As Soboroff pointed out, Fox & Friends only aired “38 seconds of a 3 minute report.” The full report -- which was a pre-taped package, and not, as Fox reported, aired live -- actually showed that the asylum-seekers sought to turn themselves into Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and showed CBP saying that they “don’t have any intentions of fencing off the entire southwest border. It’s not necessary.”

From the October 24 edition of Fox & Friends:

STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): You know those great big panels, the test panels of the new wall, they had them up near San Diego. And there was an MSNBC reporter doing a report on just those.

BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): These were prototypes of these walls, which will eventually go up if we can finally get financing for them. At which time, when doing it, you see this reporter, Jacob Soberoff, noticed something happening by that wall.

AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): He asks -- are we going to watch the video? Listen to this.

[…]

KILMEADE: Yeah, so it turns out we might need that wall. How about a better wall? It turns out.

EARHARDT: How about if you’re going to jump the wall, which you shouldn't do, don't do it when national cameras are filming you. 

DOOCY: MSNBC accidentally showed why a wall is needed. 

EARHARDT: Exactly. 

DOOCY: So, way to go.