OAN is so Far Right, It Makes FOX News Looked Balanced

Far-right Network Is Real Fake News, But Trump Loves It

OAN’s Chanel Rion (YouTube screen cap.)

One thing I’ve learned in the Trump era is, never say it can’t get worse. The coronavirus crisis is a great example of this. I thought Trump rallies were bad, but now we have a daily freak show at the White House, complete with insulting nicknames and real fake news. And people are hoarding toilet paper!

I thought FOX News Channel (FNC) was the worst TV network in history, but its feats have been bested by One America News (OAN,) a network even more far-right and conspiratorial than FOX. And FNC is the channel that decided to give Glenn Beck a prime time show!

OAN is a neo-fascist network created in 2013. Founder Charles Herring tried to differentiate it from FOX by calling Rupert Murdoch’s operation “center right.” It’s the kind of place where FOX News sends people who are too dumb for their network, such as Sarah Palin. According to Gabriel Sherman’s book “The Loudest Voice in the Room,” it took FOX News predator Roger Ailes about three years to realize that Palin really was a dingbat.

Trump has actually accused FOX News of being “politically correct” because they occasionally do real journalism and criticize him. He prefers the unadulterated worship that comes from OAN.

OAN’s content is full of stories about white nationalism, conspiracy the9ories and pro-Russia news. Naturally, Trump loves it. According to The Daily Beast, during his orientation at OAN, Ernest Champell was told: “Yeah, we like Russia here.” Champell also said he was told, “ ‘When we (OAN) do the news it’s straight no-nonsense, I learned that was a lie within a week.”

Jonathan Harris, a frequent guest on FOX News, has sued several OAN employees for making derogatory comments about non-whites. Trump has actually accused FOX News of being “politically correct” because they occasionally do real journalism and criticize him. He prefers the unadulterated worship that comes from OAN.

However, Chanel Rion asked one of the dumbest questions in the history of White House press conferences. I’ll repeat it so you can get the full effect.

“Do you consider the use of the term ‘Chinese food’ racist? Because it’s food that originates in China and has roots in China? And on that note,” said Rion. “Major left-wing news media, even in this room, have teamed up with Chinese Communist Party narratives, and they are claiming that you are racist for making these claims about Chinese virus. Is it alarming that major media players, just to oppose you, are consistently siding with foreign state propaganda, Islamic state radicalism, Latin gangs and cartels. And they work right here at the White House with direct access to you and your team.”

That statement is so inaccurate, I’m surprised it didn’t collapse under the weight of its own lies.

But who is Chanel Rion? (Her real last name is Ryan.) Apparently she is a homeschooled student, who graduated from Harvard. According to Heavy, she’s harbored far-right views for a while and claimed her family left America during the 1990s because they didn’t want to live under President Bill Clinton’s “socialism.”

She also worked as an author and illustrator before joining OAN. However, I’ve seen some media outlets call her a “political operative,” not a reporter. During her time at OAN, she accompanied Trump “lawyer” Rudy Giuliani on his mission to Ukraine to find dirt on the Biden family. She recently ran a story claiming the coronavirus was created in a North Carolina lab!

However, what she did on Thursday wasn’t journalism. That was propaganda. She was a ringer planted in the White House press corps to lob softball questions at Trump.

This isn’t the first time it’s happened. It also occurred under the George W. Bush administration where James Dale Guckert, a former gay escort, managed to get press credentials to White House press briefings. Guckert, who wrote under the pen name Jeff Gannon, had only ever written for an unknown publication called Talon News. But White House records showed he was a frequent visitor and he received tips on major stories such as the invasion of Iraq. He also lobbed ridiculous softball questions at administration officials before he was outed and his fake news career came to an abrupt end.

Rion is of the same ilk. Anyone who works for an outfit like OAN shouldn’t be considered a journalist. But the Trump White House has also given press credentials to conspiracy publications such as the Gateway Pundit and InfoWars.

Real fake news and other forms of right-wing propaganda are embraced in this administration. In a scathing editorial, MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow called for an end to Trump’s daily press briefings because they were full of “dangerous lies.” During Trump’s press briefings he has attacked the press, insulted his opponents and spread dangerous fake news that has already killed people. Several news reports have stated people in Nigeria have died after they used chloroquine, an antimalarial drug Trump said could fight the coronavirus.

But as I said at the beginning of the article, it can always get worse. With Trump, there is no bottom.