While Fox News Channel won’t show you the horrific propaganda video released by ISIS that claims to show the murder of a captured Jordanian pilot, you can go to FoxNews.com and watch the full video. The only warning about what is to come–a man, in a cage, being burned alive–is a full caps “EXTREMELY GRAPHIC VIDEO” label in bright red. Click at your own risk. FNC’s Shepard Smith said Tuesday “you don’t want to watch this.”
“After careful consideration, we decided that giving readers of FoxNews.com the option to see for themselves the barbarity of ISIS outweighed legitimate concerns about the graphic nature of the video,” said Fox News executive editor John Moody. “Online users can choose to view or not view this disturbing content.”
Fox appears to be the only U.S. news organization to host the complete video. On Fox News Channel Tuesday night, anchor Bret Baier took great pains to warn viewers that he would be showing a single still image from the video, but nothing more.
The Guardian reports that YouTube pulled the video, and Facebook told journalists it would remove the video if users posted it.
Terror analyst Rick Nelson told the Guardian Fox was doing exactly what ISIS wanted–sharing its message to spread fear:
“They’re a terror organisation,” he said. “They seek to strike terror in the hearts and minds of people globally, and by perpetuating these videos and putting them out there into the internet, it certainly expands the audience and potential effects.”
“These groups need a platform, and this gives them a platform,” he added.