Right-Wing Media Ignores Multiple ICE-Related Deaths While Downplaying ICE Abuses
Using a media coverage analysis tool, a pattern emerges: right-wing outlets amplify DHS lies, downplay ICE's scandals, and largely ignore the growing number of deaths related to ICE's crackdown.
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As the Trump Administration has empowered ICE to unleash cruelty on the American people, right-wing media have largely acted as an accomplice in these systemic abuses of power.
In the immediate aftermath of an ICE agent killing Renee Good last month, Fox News and other right-wing media perpetuated false DHS narratives about her life and the nature of her death.
Then, after Border Patrol agents senselessly killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti, DHS sought to run the same playbook they did after ICE killed Renee Good. DHS immediately presented a totally fabricated narrative, lying about how Pretti was a threat.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol’s Greg Bovino immediately falsely claimed that Pretti approached the officers armed and ready to “massacre law enforcement.”
Multiple videos directly debunked their official narrative. But this time was different. Pretti’s killing was so very clearly unjustified that even right-wing media had a hard time spinning it. But as soon as footage was released of an earlier altercation between Alex Pretti and ICE agents, right-wing media was all over it.
Trump’s allies in conservative media have been doing everything in their power to shield the Trump Administration from outrage over their increasingly unhinged approach to immigration enforcement.
As ICE’s abuses of power have become undeniable, instead of opting to spin some of these stories, right-wing media sometimes ignores them entirely.
Alex Pretti and Renee Good aren’t the only ones who have died as a result of interactions with ICE agents. But if you only read and watch right-wing media, you might not have heard that others have died at all.
In an effort to get a bird’s-eye view to analyze right-wing coverage, I once again used Ground News. It’s a news site and app that analyzes articles from 50,000 news sources daily, tracks their bias, compares headlines, and showcases how each outlet is covering a given story, or if they’re covering it at all. It’s an excellent tool I use and have recommended to students for years in my media literacy and anti-disinformation guest lectures.
One of the most tragic ICE-related deaths is the story of Geraldo Lunas Campos, a Cuban immigrant who died on January 3 while in solitary confinement in a Texas detention center. ICE’s initial explanation of the death was totally false, omitting any reports of a struggle. But an autopsy ruled it a homicide. From the Associated Press:
But a witness told The Associated Press last week that Lunas Campos was handcuffed as at least five guards held him down and one put an arm around his neck and squeezed until he was unconscious.
His death was one of at least three reported in little more than a month at Camp East Montana, a sprawling tent facility in the desert on the grounds of Fort Bliss, an Army base.
The autopsy report by the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office found Lunas Campos’ body showed signs of a struggle, including abrasions on his chest and knees. He also had hemorrhages on his neck. The deputy medical examiner, Dr. Adam Gonzalez. determined the cause of death was asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.
This story is devastating and reflective of the repeated pattern of DHS lying about the deaths of individuals who interacted with ICE, and then shifting their story.
The story was rightfully covered by many left-leaning and center outlets. But among right-wing media, it was largely ignored. I used Ground News’ Blindspot feature to analyze the scope of coverage, and my findings were unnerving. As you’ll see in the screenshot below, of the total 229 outlets that covered this story, only 17 right-leaning outlets covered it, which is only 7% of the total coverage.
As you see in the analysis, major organizations from CNN to ABC News to even CBS News covered the story, but I saw no notable coverage from right-wing outlets. A Google search found zero Fox News coverage of the autopsy, and only a Fox News story that references the DHS’s initial description of the death.
In another example of overtly ignoring the mounting ICE-related death toll, the Associated Press published a story headlined, “A Minnesota Nurse Is the 6th Person to Die During the US Immigration Crackdown.” This put a spotlight on the other incidents of individuals dying while ICE was seeking to detain them. This doesn’t even include the deaths of individuals in detention.
Once again, we saw very little right-wing media pickup of this story. According to Ground News analysis, of the 30 outlets that covered this story, only 2 were right-leaning. That’s only about 6%.
While ignoring ICE-related deaths, right-wing media have focused on making the opposition to ICE appear lawless.
In one example, right-wing media overwhelmingly covered the arrests of anti-ICE protestors:
Right-wing media may claim they’re backing the rule of law by covering those arrests. But when it comes to ICE’s tactics being struck down in court, their coverage is once again lacking.
When ICE faced a negative ruling for their warrantless arrests in Oregon, right-wing media once again largely ignored it. Only 5 of 95 total outlets that covered the story were right-leaning. That’s just 5%.
The right-wing media agenda is as clear as day. Cover stories that frame ICE as victims, frame anti-ICE protestors as hostile, and outright ignore stories of ICE’s horrific abuses of power.
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You can use it as a casual news site and get a bird’s eye view of exactly how the biggest stories in politics are being covered, or as an investigative tool to catch disinformation campaigns in real-time.
I’m subscribed to their Vantage plan, which includes the features I used when researching for this piece. It’s been invaluable in helping me to understand the media landscape and quantify how the biggest developments are covered. It also tells you who funds each media organization, so you can make an informed decision about which companies you’re supporting.
I hope you check it out. We have to hold our media to a higher standard, call out false narratives when we see them, and take our media diet into our own hands.
You can find my past pieces where I used Ground News to analyze media coverage below:
perhaps the scariest thing is that virtually no news from America surprises me any more. I think Charlie kirks shooting was the first. The threats, abuse, murders, lies and plans to steal the election all come with a shrug and a degree of expectation