New York Times Falsely Accuses Fox for a Man’s Coronavirus-Based Death

On Saturday, the New York Times suggested that Sean Hannity of Fox News made statements that motivated a bar owner in Brooklyn to ignore the coronavirus risk and take a cruise that finally killed him.

The article’s headline, which featured in the Sunday online version, which read: “A Beloved Bar Owner Was Skeptical About the Virus. Then He Took a Cruise.” The print version read: “Fake News’ and a Possibly Ill-Fated Trip.”

But here’s the problem: the New York Times quoted Hannity’s statement eight days after the Brooklyn man had gone for a cruise.

Afterward, the New York Times included that section as originating from Fox News, without pointing readers to the update. This undermined the Times’ accusation of the indirect responsibility by Hannity.

The original story published by the New York Times on April 8, covered Joe Joyce’s story, the now deceased who owned Brooklyn’s JJ Bubbles tavern. Joe died on April 9 due to COVID-19-related complications.

According to the Times, Joyce was a Trump supporter and  a fan of Fox News even though his bar happened to be an “incongruously progressive place.” 

As Vox documents, Hannity’s quote, “let’s bludgeon Trump with this new hoax,” was from March 9.

Thus, the Times tried to associate Hannity’s comment to Joyce’s decision to cruise to Spain. But there’s evidence to show that Hannity’s statement influenced Joyce’s decision, as Hannity’s remark came in eight days after Joyce’s departure on the cruise. 

Later on, the Times quietly added an update to their article to suggest that a Fox News’ spokeswoman clarified that Hannity’s statements came after the Joyces had gone on a cruise, but didn’t apologize.

Ironically, on February 27, Ginia Bellafante, the author of the New York Times article, tweeted: “I fundamentally don’t understand the panic: incidence of the disease is declining in China.”