Fox News has apologized for showing a graphic of the S&P 500 market gains after deaths and violence against black Americans.
Fox News' "Special Report" host Bret Baier tweeted the apology after the graphic appeared on his show Friday night.
"The infographic used on FOX News Channel's Special Report to illustrate market reactions to historic periods of civil unrest should have never aired on television without full context. We apologize for the insensitivity of the image & take this issue seriously."
The graphic showed increases in the S&P 500 after the following civil unrest tragedies:
- Martin Luther King Jr. assassination in 1968.
- Rodney King case acquittal in 1991.
- Police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014.
- George Floyd's killing last month.
Martin Luther King III tweeted Saturday night after the apology:
"I am appalled by Fox News' insensitive decision to compare the death of black men to gains in the stock market. This only reinforces the greed and inhumanity that exists in America as it relates to black people. A human life DOES NOT compare to a percentage jump in the S&P 500.
Fox News' Eric Shawn also apologized for the insensitive context of the graphic.
"Last night, Fox News Channel aired an infographic attempting to show the stock market on occasion gained ground in the midst of turmoil, civil unrest, and even tragedy," Shawn said, per The Hill. "In trying to make that point, the program 'Special Report' failed to explain the context of the times we are living in and should not have used that graphic."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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