Fox News host Greg Gutfeld took a Media Matters staffer to the chopping block on Twitter after they accused him and "The Five" of lying when Gutfeld said they raised the alarm over the Wuhan coronavirus during the early stages of the outbreak.
Andrew Lawrence, the Deputy Director of Rapid Response for Media Matters, accused Gutfeld of lying and Gutfeld replied by pointing Lawrence to a video clip that showed he was wrong.
Look at my pinned tweet and retract.
— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) March 31, 2020
this was January 28th. what were media hacks who are acting like they're Nostradamus now, saying back then? Zilch. https://t.co/AJpYjsFziV
— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) March 22, 2020
Lawrence switched goalposts and said some on "The Five" had downplayed the seriousness of the disease.
"[Y]ou're in deep dude. you lied about my coverage, slandered me in a very vital way, and now you're running from your own claim. retract now, be a man if that's indeed possible," Gutfeld replied.
The way your show and your network covered this from the beginning are going to get people killed
— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) March 31, 2020
you're in deep dude. you lied about my coverage, slandered me in a very vital way, and now you're running from your own claim. retract now, be a man if that's indeed possible. look at the pinned tweet - you know you fucked up. fix it. now. https://t.co/KDHkE3rtNJ
— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) April 1, 2020
As I previously wrote, the narrative from liberals within the media that Fox News did not take the Wuhan coronavirus seriously is not accurate. While some on the channel did compare it to the flu or said seasonal flu deaths were higher, many other news organizations said the same thing.
Part of this is due to China hiding the seriousness of the disease for weeks before other countries found out COVID-19 was more transmissible than originally thought when outbreaks flared up within their borders.
