Fox News pulls fake data straight from their ass: "Immigrants responsible for 2,000 deaths annually"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Fox News grotesquely smears immigrants by blaming them for over 2,000 deaths annually -- based on wild speculation

By David Neiwert Friday May 07, 2010 12:00pm



http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/fox-news-grotesquely-smears-immigran

Remember how Lou Dobbs got in trouble for touting phony statistics linking immigration to leprosy?

Well now Fox News is doing the same thing -- with only a slightly different angle>

Yesterday on Fox & Friends, Gretchen Carlson interviewed a fellow named Ed Kowalski, who is a board member of the group 9/11 Families for a Secure America, about Arizona's new police-state immigration law. It produced this exchange:

Carlson: According to you, politicians seem to be more concerned about the illegals' rights than the rights of the Americans, some of whom end up dead.

Kowalski: That's correct, that's correct. As best as we can estimate, 2,200 Americans a year are murdered by criminal illegal aliens. That number is staggering.

Several times the chryon read: "FSM: 2,158 Killed By Illegals Every Year."

It's a completely phony statistic. As Media Matters explains:

The immigrant murder rate cited by Fox News is based on a 2005 Human Events article by Mac Johnson. In the article, Johnson said he attempted to locate statistics on "illegal alien murders" but was told "that no one kept track" of those numbers. Johnson then "arrived at my own approximation of the number," which he called "crude." After admitting that "the murder rate among illegal aliens in America is unknown," Johnson assumed that the rate at which "illegal aliens" murder would remain consistent with murder rates from the immigrant's home country.

[realisticphish]

1. wow, that's bad statistical reasoning

that's like the idiot who estimated aids deaths in the gay community by counting obits in local publications

[frylock]

2. knr

derp derp.

[JuniperLea]

6. K&R... dee dee dee!

[Skip Intro]

3. Faux made up numbers about "Illegals" not "Immigrants"

Not defending faux, but they clearly are saying "illegals" not "immigrants."

[Robbie88]

4. K&R

Unfortunately the right wing in this country seems to have little desire for fact checking, so I'm sure that we will hear this mythical statistic tossed around as fact by American conservatives in the coming weeks...

[LiberalFighter]

5. I estimate that Gretchen Carlson has had sex with 3,968 different species.

And Ed Kowalski is not one of those species.

[sarge43]

9. Bad stat

There aren't that many species that would sink so low. Even Komodo dragons have standards.

[Coco2]

7. illegal immigrant murder rates in TX

The murder and attempted murder rates involving illegal immigrants is quite a bit higher than other groups here in Texas. THe reason being bandied about is that most of these murders involve mexican gangs and drugs. However there is some evidence that the now unemployed illegals are being recruited by the drug gangs, so things may get worse. Who knows.

[wcast]

12. Link Please

N/T

[HughMoran]

8. From their anuses

Which are on their faces.

[tanyev]

10. And we know Gretchen knows how to Google, because she told us

that's where she went to find the definition of "ignoramus".



(I'm sure she does not see the irony.)

[struggle4progress]

11. White people kill at least 4500 Americans a year! I don't care if they're here legally or not!

Send them back to Yurp! Let's save lives!

[KamaAina]

13. Probably a hell of a lot more than that

seeing as how Murdoch, whose Faux Noise helped whip up yet another war frenzy in this country, is himself an immigrant; in fact, he only secured U.S. citizenship in order to circumvent U.S. law prohbiting ownership of broadcast media by foreigners!