The day after Fox News featured a chyron referring to President Joe Biden as a “wannabe dictator,” the network issued a statement addressing how it was handled internally:

“The chyron was taken down immediately and was addressed.”

The chyron appeared onscreen for 27 seconds during Fox News’ primetime programming, showing up at the tail end of Fox News Tonight and staying on for the first 15 seconds of Hannity. The full text read: “Wannabe Dictator Speaks at the White House After Having His Political Rival Arrested,” which echoes claims by former president Donald Trump that the 37 federal charges against him are tantamount to “election interference.” Trump was arrested and arraigned in a Miami courthouse yesterday and pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The Washington Post called the chyron “startling” even by Fox News standards, saying “the stark and flippant phrasing of the chyron struck many critics as crossing a line into outright falsehood.” The New York Times also noted that Fox News host Brian Kilmeade erroneously referred to Trump as the “President of the United States” during Fox News Tonight.

The chyron also went viral on social media — Axios reporter Alex Thompson noticed the chyron and posted a screenshot on Twitter along with a video, showing Biden speaking at the White House while Trump gave his own speech in New Jersey. Reactions from the left and right followed:

Fox News was the only cable network of the major three to carry Trump’s post-arraignment speech. The NYT article also said the other major networks declined to show Trump’s speech “out of concern that doing so could give him a platform for spreading misinformation.”

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