Social Security misinformation common on Fox's Special Report

Members of the "Fox News All-Star Panel" propagated two pieces of Social Security misinformation that have become increasingly common among the network's pundits. On the March 15 edition of Special Report with Brit Hume, National Public Radio national political correspondent Mara Liasson falsely suggested that private accounts "might do something to help the solvency" of Social Security, and Weekly Standard executive editor Fred Barnes erroneously claimed that Social Security will be "insolvent" in 2018.

Media Matters for America has documented three instances in the last six weeks (here, here, and here) of Fox News pundits wrongly suggesting that President Bush's proposed private accounts would address Social Security's solvency problem, as Liasson did on March 15. In fact, even the White House has admitted that private accounts would do nothing to address Social Security's long-term revenue shortfall, and President Bush said at a March 16 press conference that "

ersonal accounts do not solve the issue" of solvency. Indeed, as Media Matters has explained, diverting payroll tax dollars into private accounts without cutting benefits would actually exacerbate the solvency problem.

Watch this video clip:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200503160009


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   Hume touted misleading Social Security poll to claim broad support for Bush plan, accuse Dems of "disinformation"

Fox News Washington managing editor Brit Hume used a misleading poll on Social Security conducted by a pro-Republican public relations firm to claim falsely that "nearly 60 percent of seniors who know the facts support personal accounts" and accuse Democrats of waging a "disinformation campaign." In fact, far from presenting "the facts" to respondents, the poll Hume cited left out key information about President Bush's likely plan for Social Security, and Hume failed to note the poll itself was sponsored by two pro-privatization advocacy groups.

Watch this video clip:
http://mediamatters.org/comments/latest/200503190001

they do a fine job too