Fox News Anchor Admits Biden Burger Ban Claims Are False

Fox News anchor John Roberts offered a “meata culpa” on Monday after falsely suggesting on Friday that President Joe Biden’s  climate change plan would ban burgers.

On Friday, Roberts told viewers about a University of Michigan study that suggested cutting back on eating red meat would decrease harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Although the study was first presented in 2020 and wasn’t connected to Biden in anyway, Fox News decided to connect nonexistent dots with a graphic, “Up in Your Grill: Biden’s Climate Requirements,” of data from the Michigan study, according to Forbes.com.

Over the weekend, other Fox personalities ran with the false claim, especially Larry Kudlow, Donald Trump ’s former White House economic adviser, who ridiculously insisted Biden’s next step would be to ban burgers and steaks on the Fourth of July.

The claims got enough traction that a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture told The Hill on Monday that the claims made by Fox News were “a fabrication” and said any burger ban is “not a part of the climate plan nor the emissions targets. It is not real.” 

On Monday, Roberts then walked back Friday’s false claim with a correction:

“On Friday, we told you about a study from the University of Michigan to give some perspective on President Biden’s ambitious climate change goals. That research, from 2020, found that cutting back how much red meat people eat would have a drastic impact on harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

“The data was accurate but a graphic and the script incorrectly implied that it was part of Biden’s plan for dealing with climate change. That is not the case.”

Many Twitter users pointed out that the damage caused by the false narrative may have already been done.