Melissa Joskow / Media Matters

Right-wing media misinformation about abortion has become a centerpiece of conservatives’ 2020 electoral messaging strategy -- and it largely started with the failure of CNN and MSNBC to adequately address these talking points in early 2019 when Fox News was dedicating substantial coverage to the topic.

A Media Matters study of 12 months of evening cable news programs found that Fox News dominated abortion-related conversations by pushing dangerous misinformation. Notably, Fox News’ abortion-related coverage reached a fever pitch in January and February 2019 with the network’s “news” and opinion programs each contributing to the rampant spread of sensationalized misinformation. While Fox figures had daily meltdowns about abortion, CNN and MSNBC largely ignored the topic -- even failing to debunk Fox’s harmful talking points when they appeared during each network’s minimal abortion-related coverage. As a result of this silence, Fox News effectively transformed dangerous lies about abortion into a core part of conservatives’ 2020 electoral messaging strategy.

Fox News’ early 2019 meltdown was sparked and sustained by the following series of events: