Ingraham is deeply and fanatically anti-science. She is on record as a vehement global warming denier who has characterized climate change as a religion (Obama, for instance, had a “maniacal adherence” to “the church of the global warming”), and she subscribes to the Climategate conspiracy theory.
More recently, Ingraham has also gone full-blown anti-vaccine activist and RFK Jr. fan. During COVID, she repeatedly questioned the effectiveness and safety of the COVID vaccines, based on conspiracy theories, and instead pushed for hydroxychloroquine as an all-round COVID treatment – Ingraham characterized it as a miracle drug and a “game changer”, and hosted a number of guests (like deranged conspiracy theorist and Minnesota state senator Scott Jensen, Dr. Phil and America’s Frontline Doctors’ Richard Urso) to promote it. When studies showed that hydroxychloroquine was associated with an increased risk of death, she dismissed them as “shoddy”, “shockingly irresponsible” and “agenda-driven” on the grounds that the results didn’t match what she had decided that they ought to show; she even suggested that such results were part of a conspiracy against … herself, Fox and Trump (they were “triggered by pure hatred of Trump? Of Fox? Of me?”). Ingraham was of course also an early proponent of ivermectin and promoted the conspiracy theory that doctors and officials “vilify and dismiss and demean, and, frankly, lie about it, the effectiveness of these drugs” because the doctors and scientists based their conclusions on consulting reality rather than her. Indeed, Ingraham managed to gain international fame as a source of misinformation, fake news and conspiracy theories about COVID.
Following the January 6 2021 attack on the Capitol, Ingraham was one of the most prominent promoters of false flags conspiracy theories (that the largely mythical antifa was responsible). Her support for these conspiracy theories was probably guided by strategic considerations rather than conviction, insofar as her own text messages seem to contradict her official views. Ingraham had earlier been an important champion of Clinton body count conspiracy theories, in particular Seth Rich murder conspiracy theories; Ingraham at one point had to suggest, instead of admitting that the conspiracy theory was bonkers ridiculous, that Rich’s parents had to be involved in the conspiracy as well. She was likewise an early promoter of conspiracy theories about the 2017 Las Vegas massacre.
As for social issues, Ingraham is worried about the “pornification of our culture” and subscribes to The Great Replacement conspiracy theory (Democrats “want to replace you, the American voters, with newly amnestied citizens and an ever-increasing number of chain migrants”), often propping up her rhetoric with misinformation and fake news. As for gun control, Ingraham was heavily involved in the targeting of Parkland survivor David Hogg by wingnut cyberbullies, and her stance on mass shootings is that they should be blamed on marijuana rather than guns. (She is not reasonable about marijuana legislation.) At least she claims to have been opposed to Trump’s Iran war from the start.
Even Bill O’Reilly characterized Ingraham as a “rabid ideologue” and “Kool-Aid drinker.”
Diagnosis: Yes, she might appear almost milquetoast compared to the lineup of grimly paranoid delusionists currently being served wingnut audiences, but her influence is certainly non-negligible. And she is, indeed, a grimly paranoid and delusional conspiracy theorist, too, even if much of what she says is primarily motivated by cynical market capture strategies.
It took 900 years to add a classic loon.
ReplyDeleteEd chiarini says Laura is actually Caroline Kennedy 😆
ReplyDeleteWhen BILL O'REILLY thinks you're going too far, it might be time to reconsider your worldview.
ReplyDelete"...she has also published a series of books we haven’t read and hope you haven’t either"
ReplyDeleteGod forbid, no! 😅