Fox News Identifies Mark Sanford As A Democrat

Update: Fox News has apologized for identifying Sanford as a Democrat. Read that apology here.

Additional Reporting By Sahil Kapur

When does an embattled Republican suddenly become an embattled Democrat? When Fox News is covering him, of course.

The network known for its conservative leaning ran footage of Mark Sanford admitting to an extramarital affair on Wednesday with a Chyron identifying the South Carolina Republican -- near tears -- as a D, for Democrat.

Media Matters has the screen grab on its site and notes that Fox News later changed Sanford's party affiliation to Republican.

But it's also worth adding that this is not the first time the network has misidentified a GOPer in the midst of acknowledging misconduct. When former congressman Mark Foley admitted to having problems with alcoholism -- after reports that he had behaved inappropriately with congressional pages -- Fox News also identified him as a Democrat.

There is, of course, a small danger to these quick journalistic missteps. They get repeated. Look, for instance at this Google News finding for "Mark Foley, D-Florida."

Comments

[leftyandproudofit]

09:23 AM on 06/29/2009

Everyone here should complain about this to the FCC. We own the airwaves, and Fox should not be allowed to get away with this. This link will take you to their homepage..­.

http://www­.fcc.gov/c­ontacts.ht­ml

[GoDogGo]

04:03 PM on 06/28/2009

How pathetic can a news organizati­on be? I think we're finding out...

[cyranorox]

01:40 PM on 06/28/2009

We need new memes. I propose this, for the sock puppets and cheerleade­rs of the Rhight: the Dufflepud Chorus. All you Narnia readers know that they are vocal fools who repeat idiot praise of their leader.
If you like it, use it and pass it on.

[harriettubman]

12:35 PM on 06/28/2009

Then O'Reilly complains that networks and certain people picked this man clean. Missing for days then announces he has a mistress in South America? WTH were they suppose to talk about?

[frappe]

07:56 AM on 06/28/2009

How many times have they pulled such a stunt? I think about a half dozen or so times, right? The Fox News Network is a joke. They are an embarrassm­ent to legitimate news stations.

[frappe]

07:52 AM on 06/28/2009

Next, they'll probably say George Bush was a Democrat, too.

[rowzeer]

01:35 AM on 06/29/2009

He wasn't?

[helenwheels]

08:55 PM on 06/27/2009

OK, so w/in just a couple of pages of comments, we have 4 rethugs (so far) that we recaII being misidentif­ied as dems:

George Ryan
Mark FoIey
Larry Craig
Mark Sandford

And that's just off the top of our heads. At what point shouId these peopIe be fined for so many gIaring "mistakes"­?

[brandon102]

12:12 PM on 06/27/2009

I think we're all being too hard on Fox News. After all, they claim to be "fair and balanced," and they know the Democrats control politics these days so it only seems fair to assume that Sanford was a Democrat.

I'm just surprised they issued a correction­, which is something I thought they did not do. If they corrected every factual error they made, they would have to have a sister channel "Fox News Network revisited,­" with nothing but correction­s and apologies. Maybe even a third network every time Michele Bachmann gets interviewe­d! lol

[Tugar]

04:09 PM on 06/27/2009

NO ONE COULD HAVE SAID IT BETTER !

[agandia]

08:14 PM on 06/27/2009

This was not an honest mistake. Fox News knows these "errors" have a chance of defecting bad news on their republican brethen. Think of the simpletons who watch Fox News during the day. They congest news like its fast food. They don't question the value or validity of what is reported. There should be congressio­nal hearings on whether Fox should be allowed to call itself a news agency.

[helenwheels]

08:43 PM on 06/27/2009

I agree, they've done it more than just the FoIey and Sanford incidents. It's obviousIy done compIeteIy on purpose.

[bleedingheartliberal218]

09:08 AM on 06/27/2009

Fox Noise's Rupert Murdoch should issue his "apology" from Australia AFTER HIS DEPORTATIO­N!

[jeremyfive]

08:43 AM on 06/27/2009

Toyko Rose's Fox News Channel is a modern marvel of insidious distortion­.

[ladyoftheisland]

07:43 AM on 06/27/2009

This is par for the course, Rush et al lie all the time, they all make the same mistake, they presume the only people who watch/list­en are for lack of a better term followers.

[Zenfull]

02:03 AM on 06/27/2009

Fox News is well aware of it's viewer demographi­cs which listens to what it wants to hear. They use such Orwellian tactics quite deliberate­ly to influence their audience.

[applescruff]

12:46 AM on 06/27/2009

Fool me once,shame on you,Fool me everyday then it's Fox News I view.

[lenoirlady]

02:21 PM on 06/27/2009

What logic, what rational! Tell me scruff, what have you learned lately besides lies and distortion­?

[Tugar]

04:11 PM on 06/27/2009

This comment (and picture) has me in tears, laughing !

[kamachanda]

12:05 AM on 06/27/2009

I'm waiting for Hurricane Claudette (D), Hurricane Joaquin (D) etc.

[troika]

11:19 PM on 06/26/2009

Fox Noise channel is not that ignorant to say it oopsied Sanford as a democrat. It has made several remarks in the past and it was DELIBERATE­. That is their MO. Its talking heads rant 24/7. They are ready to point out the gaffes made by VP Biden. Does it ever check the ticker taper news bit that runs at the bottom. For instance it said " Debbie Rowe, the father of Michael Jackson's children gave up her parental rights" Such blockheads on this channel that cannot differenti­ate between a man and a woman.

[Purnell]

08:45 AM on 06/28/2009

Why can't everyone just give Fox credit for incompeten­ce?