In the segment about Mr. Gugino, the One America News reporter, Mr. Rouz, claims that “newly released video appeared to show Gugino using a police tracker on his phone trying to scan police communications during the protest.” The footage, as seen in the segment, offers no obvious evidence to back up that assertion.
The allegation of a link between Mr. Gugino and a far-left antifascist group referred to as “antifa” appears to have originated on Conservative Treehouse, a fringe right-wing website that has spread baseless conspiracy theories. The site bills itself as a “Rag Tag Bunch of Conservative Misfits.”
The unsubstantiated theory that antifa activists were responsible for riots and looting at the protests prompted by the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died last month after being pinned to the ground by a white police officer, was the biggest piece of protest misinformation tracked by Zignal Labs, a research firm that follows the spread of falsehoods in the media.
In response to an inquiry, a spokeswoman for One America News, Krista McClelland, wrote in an email on Tuesday: “From numerous sources, O.A.N.’s investigative team is aware of Mr. Gugino’s anti-police sentiment and statements.”
Robert Herring, the network’s chief executive, claimed in a Twitter post that his network would present “follow-up reporting” to back up its claims about Mr. Gugino. The follow-up segment on Tuesday afternoon asserted that Mr. Gugino “had ties to antifa, the violent terrorist group.”
“Mr. President, you haven’t let us down on doing what you say and we won’t let you down as your source for credible news!” Mr. Herring wrote.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/article/oann-trump.html
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