Fox News has been accused of deliberately diverting attention from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal by heavily covering a Sydney Sweeney jeans advertisement, according to a study by Media Matters for America. The network spent over 85 minutes across at least 20 segments discussing the ad and the backlash against it, while only devoting three minutes to the Epstein case since Monday.
The conservative channel mentioned Sweeney 62 times on air compared to just 14 references to Epstein, despite President Donald Trump recently claiming that Epstein 'stole' Virginia Giuffre from Mar-a-Lago and reiterating that he is 'allowed' to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell. Giuffre's family has demanded more answers from the administration.
In contrast, MSNBC mentioned Epstein 756 times and CNN 638 times, with neither network giving significant coverage to the Sweeney ad. Newsmax, a MAGA competitor, mentioned Epstein four times more than the commercial. The White House has also weighed in, with communications director Steven Cheung calling the backlash against the ad 'cancel culture run amok'.
Media Matters noted that Fox News has focused on other distractions, such as Tulsi Gabbard's claims about the Obama administration, to steer viewers away from the Epstein controversy. The network's coverage of the Sweeney ad has centred on supposed liberal outrage, though no prominent Democratic officials have commented on it.
