Media Matters Daily Summary 07-15-10

On Fox, Cupp falsely claims Obama, Napolitano won't use the word "terrorist"
On Fox News, S.E. Cupp falsely claimed that President Obama and Janet Napolitano "won't even say 'terrorist,' " suggesting that Obama and his administration are weak on terror. In fact, both Obama and Napolitano have used the word frequently, and the administration has increased counterterrorism resources and achieved significant successes. Read More

NYP, WSJ mock White House's "full of 'bull' " stimulus figures, even though they're similar to private estimates
The New York Post and Wall Street Journal mocked the White House's estimates of the Recovery Act's effects on GDP and employment, calling them "full of 'bull' " and "magical." But the White House's GDP estimates are similar to private estimates, and independent analysts agree that the stimulus has significantly increased employment relative to a baseline estimate of what jobs levels would have been without the stimulus Read More

Fox continues to attack unemployment insurance
Fox & Friends continued to attack House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's statement that unemployment insurance stimulates the economy and advanced the false claim that unemployment insurance is a disincentive for people to look for jobs. In fact, economists agree that extending unemployment insurance has a strong stimulative effect on GDP and employment and does not discourage recipients from seeking jobs during a recession. Read More

Right-wing media attempt to erase "bigoted statements" from the tea party movement
Following the NAACP's resolution condemning "the Tea Party's continued tolerance for bigotry and bigoted statements," right-wing media have gone on the defense, going so far as to claim there is "no evidence of racism within the movement." But the NAACP's charge of "racist elements" within the tea party is supported by allegations of racial epithets hurled at African-American congressmen and racially charged signs and slogans from various tea party protests. Read More

Fox Business fearmongers about "Largest Tax Hike Ever"
Fox Business has aired at least 11 segments in the past three days falsely claiming that the impending expiration of the Bush tax cuts at the end of the year will lead to the "Largest Tax Hike Ever." Most of these segments failed to acknowledge that President Obama's proposed budget calls for retaining the tax cuts for the vast majority of Americans. Read More

Beck repeats discredited claim that Obama admin has OK'd federal funding for elective abortions
Glenn Beck advanced the discredited claim that federal funding will go to fund elective abortions in Pennsylvania in order to suggest that President Obama lied when he promised federal funds would not pay for such abortions. Read More