Fact Check: Has Fox News Fired Laura Ingraham?
Tucker Carlson’s recent sudden exit from Fox News has triggered greater scrutiny of the conservative broadcaster, with a reported dip in ratings and criticism from its audience over Carlson’s departure.
In the past week, reports have circulated that Sean Hannity would take over Carlson’s prime-time spot, a claim that, according to Forbes, the station has denied.
Among rumors of scheduling changes in its primetime, one claim shared widely across social media was that top host Laura Ingraham was also about to be kicked out.
The Claim
Multiple tweets, posted between May 17-18, 2023, yubi claimed that Fox News had fired host Laura Ingraham.
One tweet by @RightWingCope, posted on May 17, 2023, viewed 888,700 times, stated: “🚨BREAKING: Laura Ingraham got FIRED from her nightly show on Fox”
Another tweet by gun control activist David Hogg, posted on May 17, 2023, and viewed 547,000 times, stated: “Laura Ingraham getting fired the same week I graduate from Harvard would be the best graduation present I could ever get.”
The Facts
While supporting conservative positions, Ingraham has also spoken on right-wing narratives on the channel. In March 2023, she said that former President Donald Trump would need to forget about the 2020 election during his next bid for the White House.
Speaking on her show, Ingraham said: “If I were Trump or running his campaign I would strongly urge him to stop talking about 2020, it is over, enough.
“Marinating in old claims of election fraud will not win over a single voter in any state that he needs to win in 2024.”
However, claims that Ingraham has been fired by Fox, for whatever reason, are incorrect.
Responding directly, Fox News told Newsweek that the claims about Ingraham were “wildly inaccurate” and that she would remain at the station.
“Reports based on various tweets by left wing activists are wildly inaccurate—Laura Ingraham, the top-rated woman in cable news, is now and will continue to be a prominent host and integral part of the FOX News lineup,” a Fox News spokesperson said.
“No decision has been made on a new primetime line-up and there are multiple scenarios under consideration.”
The claims about Ingraham leaving may have been prompted by rumored changes at the network in the wake of Carlson’s exit, made by the Drudge Report earlier this week.
For the time being then, Ingraham does not appear to be leaving the station.
Carlson’s departure from the conservative news network prompted Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently to call on Dominion Voting Systems to say whether the company played a role in his exit.
The network did not explain why it cut ties with Carlson, but the move came soon after Fox News agreed to pay $787 million to settle the voting company’s defamation lawsuit, averting a trial that would have exposed how the network promoted lies about the 2020 presidential election. Text messages sent by Carlson were made public as part of that lawsuit. A Dominion spokeswoman told Newsweek that nothing about Carlson was part of the settlement agreement.
The Ruling
False.
The claims about Ingraham appear to have been prompted by rumors of scheduling changes at the station, which the network has not confirmed.
However, as confirmed to Newsweek by Fox News, the claims about Ingraham are false. It added that Ingraham “will continue to be a prominent host and integral part of the FOX News lineup.”
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check team
