AP Reports On FOX News’ Mendacity

Charles Hanley for AP reports on the story that "half of America" still thinks Iraq had WMDs, and that's why the war was justified. "The WMD believers are heavily Republican, polls show." Media analysts and weapons inspectors speculate about why so many people cling to the monumental falsehood, including the observation that certain sources for information - "TV sound bites, bloggers and politicians" - persist in deceiving their audiences with distortions and outright lies. Charles Duelfer, the lead U.S. inspector whose report two years ago confirmed there were no WMDs, laments, "It is easy to see what is accepted as truth rapidly morph from one representation to another." Playing off Duelfer's comment, reporter Hanley then states:The creative "morphing" goes on. As Israeli troops and Hezbollah guerrillas battled in Lebanon on July 21, a Fox News segment suggested, with no evidence, yet another destination for the supposed doomsday arms. "ARE SADDAM HUSSEIN'S WMDS NOW IN HEZBOLLAH'S HANDS?" asked the headline, lingering for long minutes on TV screens in a million American homes.