As Greg Sargent reported yesterday, Fox News ended up having to issue an "online correction of the false claims the outlet had been making while waging a high-profile assault on Kevin Jennings," the Department of Education official currently being targeted by the right wing. The specific claim involved an accusation that Jennings had covered up "statutory rape," based on an incident when Jennings was a teacher, when a "teenager confided in him about having sex with a stranger and Jennings didn't report it to authorities." Media Matters ended up proving there was no basis to the claim. Via The Plum Line:
On Friday Media Matters produced what it said was the kid's drivers license, showing that the kid was 16, legal age of consent in Massachuttes, and also produced a Facebook exchange that seemed to show that a Fox News reporter had been informed directly by the kid himself that they'd misrepresented his age.
An interesting sidenote, picked up by eagle-eyed tipster Josh Glasstetter: Fox News was supportive of Jennings before they started trumping up crimes to pin on him! Here's video from a year ago, where Fox's Bill O'Reilly praises pop star Hilary Duff for participating in an anti-homophobia campaign:
WATCH:
That PSA was commissioned by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which Jennings founded. Naturally, Michelle Malkin is terribly upset that this message of tolerance is still running on Fox News, as is her wont.
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