Fox News apologizes for comparing death of George Floyd with market gains

Following it's airing, the graphic was widely criticized across social media. Martin Luther King Jr.'s son said that he was "appalled."

JUNE 9, 2020 22:14

A mural of George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis is seen in Stevenson Square (photo credit: REUTERS) — A mural of George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis is seen in Stevenson Square

(photo credit: REUTERS)

Fox News apologized on Saturday for airing a graph that associated and compared stock market performance with periods of civil unrest in the United States.

The graph aired on a Saturday afternoon segment of Special Report with Bret Baier, featuring Fox Business reporter Susan Li. It signaled market gains following significant events in American civil rights history, such as the moments following the death of George Floyd, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the acquittal of the officers who assaulted Rodney King Jr., and the police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014.

This is a horrific graphic to have put up on air. My god. pic.twitter.com/HoDof1AN9l
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) June 5, 2020

“The infographic used on FOX News Channel’s Special Report to illustrate market reactions to historic periods of civil unrest should have never aired on television without full context. We apologize for the insensitivity of the image & take this issue seriously," Baier reported Fox News as saying, on Twitter.

Other publications have linked stock market changes to the current civil unrest within the United States. However, they provided detail and explanation as to why the market fluctuates during these times.

"Last night, Fox News Channel aired an infographic attempting to show the stock market on occasion gained ground in the midst of turmoil, civil unrest and even tragedy," Fox New's America's News HQ anchor and senior correspondent Eric Shawn said on Saturday, according to the Associated Press. “In trying to make that point, the program ‘Special Report’ failed to explain the context of the times we are living in and should not have used that graphic.”

Following its airing, the graphic was widely criticized across social media. Martin Luther King Jr.'s son said that he was "appalled."

"I am appalled by Fox News’ insensitive decision to compare the death of black men to gains in the stock market," Martin Luther King III wrote on Twitter. "This only reinforces the greed and inhumanity that exists in America as it relates to black people. A human life DOES NOT compare to a percentage jump in the S&P 500."